Of the Cherry Blossom and the Hawk (SSMonth15)
by AkaruiMirai
Summary: A full month's worth of stories celebrating our OTP becoming canon! My first steps into fan fiction! Based on a list of prompts from Tumblr. May our ship forever sail! Sasusaku for life :3:3. Day 31: Reincarnation (Concluded)
1. Let's Dance!

A/N: Hi there. This would be my very first story that I post online! I think I made it just in time! I post this story in dedication to my OTP that is SasuSaku. I hope that everyone enjoys it! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated as I would really like to improve my writing but no flames please.

Also, I don't think that I would be able to complete all prompts on time since I literally started on the first day itself. I will do my best though. Thank you and please enjoy the story below. :)

* * *

 _ **DAY 1: Matchmaker**_

* * *

He sees her standing there, sipping her champagne, looking graceful and beautiful in a long dark blue strapless gown. Her pink hair had been done up in a messy bun, with loose strands framing her face elegantly. Meanwhile, her eyes green and expressive that they were, reveals the boredom towards the ball that she feels inside. He, like everyone else, could not help but to notice her due to her unusual hair colour.

He turns his head towards his current dancing partner, a curvaceous lady with curly dirty blonde hair that was elegantly twisted to the side of her head. She was smiling seductively at him and puffing her chest out, almost pushing her breasts in his face, probably in hopes of getting into his bed later that night. He scoffed inwardly, cursing Naruto who had all but dragged him to this stupid ball. All he wanted was to spend his weekend relaxing. Now, he is here, at the ball, wearing a tux and dancing with a lady that could not for one second keep her hands or breasts to herself. He could have declined when the lady, Kiseki was her name, approached him for a dance. However, seeing as she was the first daughter of the host of the ball, it would be bad to embarrass her in public at her family's event, especially when their families were to work together. Surely, his father would have his head if he if he did that.

As the music slows, Sasuke takes it as his chance to escape the grasp of Kiseki. He leads her to a table and politely excuses himself, almost running (No, Uchihas do not run, they stride) to the buffet table, where he could get a refreshment. Concentrating on the walk to the table, Sasuke did not notice Kiseki stalking him like a predator hunting a prey. Her action however, didn't escape the sharp sight of a certain pinkette.

Sasuke, with a glass wine in hand, decided to escape to the balcony where it was quieter and less stifling. As he leans his elbows on the balcony, enjoying the cold wind, he hears the ruffling of dress behind him. He sighs and turns towards the source of the noise, only to recognise Kiseki. She leered at him,

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing out here?" Sasuke represses a slight shiver at the way that she is looking at him, like a piece of meat.

"Kiseki-san, I am out here enjoying the wind and waiting for my partner." It was not a lie; he really was waiting for Naruto, just not in the way that Kiseki was thinking about. She cocks her head to the side, attempting to smile coyly.

"Were you now? And how come the charming lady has not come to dance with you yet? Is she really here, or are you lying to me?" Annoyed with her attitude Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and is about to snap at her, politeness and his head be damned!

"Listen here you-" He is cut off mid-sentence when another figure walked up to him and wrapped her arm around his own.

"Kiseki-san, thank you for taking good care of my date, however, I do think that it is time him to dance with me." Sasuke looks down at the pinkette at his side utterly confuse.

"Is that so Sasuke-kun?" Kiseki demands of Sasuke.

"Uhm, yeah" Sasuke blurts without really thinking about it. Kiseki looks at them for a moment longer before harrumphing and sashaying her way back into the ballroom. The moment she was out of sight, the pinkette releases Sasuke's arm and steps back in respect. She smiles at him,

"Are you okay, Uchiha-san?" she asks. Sasuke finally maintains composure and nods.

"I could have gotten rid of her myself," He pauses, an inclination for her to introduce herself. She grins, getting the message.

"Haruno Sakura. I know you could have done it, but it is best that you did not. Your father is looking forward to sign a contract with Kiseki-san's family. If you had done what you wanted to, I'm afraid that that contract would never happen." She replies, all the while smiling softly at him. Sasuke is slightly suspicious, how on earth does she know all this? Seeing the confusion on his face, she laughs quietly,

"Uchiha-san, Kiseki-san's family just made the announcement just after you left the ballroom!" Sasuke nods his head in astonishment as the tips of his ears turned slightly red. He coughs, clearing his throat,

"Thank you for what you did, Haruno-san." Sasuke extends his hand in a shake.

"Sakura." Sakura says while she accepts the handshake.

"Huh?"

"Just call me Sakura; there is no need to be so formal." She grins at him.

"Alright, as long as you call me Sasuke as well" Sasuke smirks. He suddenly remembers a bit of the conversation from a few minutes ago.

"Shall we dance?" He extends his hand, waiting for her to take it.

"I beg your pardon?" Sakura blushes at his words.

"You did say that it was time that I dance with you, didn't you?" He gently reminds her, amused by her sudden change in character.

"I only said that to-" Sakura started only to be cut off.

"I know. But it would be really rude of me to break a promise to a lady. Also, wouldn't it be better if we show Kiseki that we were not lying?" She lowers her head and nods shyly. He smirks slightly at her, thinking,

 _'_ _What an interesting person, this Haruno Sakura.'_

Lifting her head up, Sakura smiles sweetly at him, pink dusting her cheeks and accepts his hand. Sasuke leads her back into the ballroom. Sasuke smirks,

' _Maybe the dobe bringing me here isn't so bad after all."_

 _~Up next, Day 2~_


	2. Life's Expectations

A/N: I'm early this time! I'm on a roll! I hope that the creative juices keeps flowing (I'm susceptible to procrastination)! Fellow shippers! I hereby congratulate us on the latest Naruto Gaiden Chapter! I am immensely pleased with the outcome! Thank you Kishi for all that you've done for us! You are our first and foremost SasuSaku shipper that you are! You have attained vengeance in your quest of utterly destroying the antis! May they never sprout nonsense again. Thank you.

I hope you enjoy this one too. It gave me the shivers writing this. It is shorter than the previous one, but hopefully just as or better than it! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do not belong to me. They belong to the wonderful Kishi-sensei.

* * *

 _ **DAY 2: No Filter**_

* * *

Uchiha Sakura is like an open book to Uchiha Sasuke. Her emotions were never filtered when she was in his presence. She trusts him so much that she never hides anything from him, so much so that he is attune to even the smallest changes in her moods; the way she bites her lips when she is uncertain; the way her green eyes darken slightly when she was sad; the way her hands clench when she's angry; the way her entire face glows when she's happy. Uchiha Sasuke knows Uchiha Sakura better than the back of his hand. So, it was no surprise when he knew she was delighted about something when he saw her walking towards to where he was sitting on the couch, fighting the grin that was threatening to spill onto her face. He raised an elegant eyebrow in amusement when he notices her hands behind her back. 'She is hiding something.' He thinks but says nothing, curious as to what Sakura has up her sleeves.

Sakura came up to where he was sitting, her steps practically bounces before she stops in front of him. She knelt in front of him, hands still behind her back so that she came face to face with his chest. Sasuke leaned forward so that they were face to face. Sakura grinned,

"Darling, I have some exciting news!" She exclaimed happily. Sasuke smiled a small but gentle small,

"Oh? And pray tell what news is that?" He asked. She stuck her tongue out at him childishly.

"Guess, Sasuke-kun!" She prompted him. He decided to humour her,

"The dobe finally figured out that he's not suited out as Hokage?" He teased her with a smirk. Sakura clicked her tongue, before her right hand appeared from behind her back to shove him lightly in the shoulder. He grunts her 'lightly' was not really light at all.

"Sasuke-kun! You know that Naruto is perfect for Hokage! Guess again!" She chided him.

"Tch, I don't know. Why don't you tell me instead?" Sasuke retorted, leaning back into the couch.

"Sasuke-kun, you're no fun!" Sakura pouted. Sasuke only scoffed at her. Impatient, Sakura stood and presented him with the paper that she was holding in her left hand. Sasuke looked at the folded paper in confusion, and she shook the paper in front of his face, urging him to read it. Sasuke took it from her hands, flipping it open and reading it. It was a test result from the hospital where Sakura worked. It wasn't long before his entire body went rigid, Sakura could only grin happily from where she was standing in front of him. Sasuke slowly lowered the paper and stared at his wife in shock.

"Is it true?" He questioned, not believing what was written on the paper. Sakura nodded her head, beaming happily.

"I had a test done when I notice something was amiss. So I went to the hospital and did a check-up. I'm 4 weeks into the pregnancy Sasuke-kun! We're going to be parents!" She leapt for joy and Sasuke, worried as he was, quickly stood up and caught her in his arm.

"Careful Sakura, don't overdo it." He chided slightly, attempting to frown at her, but couldn't fight the grin off his face. Sasuke lowered Sakura onto the ground before enveloping her in a hug that was equally reciprocated by his wife. He was overjoyed at the prospect of being a father and tears of happiness welled up in his eyes.

Sakura heard a slight sniffling from her husband and proceeded to look up at him. What she saw amazed her and was something that would forever be engraved into her memories. Sasuke had clenched his eyes shut, tears streaming down his face while his mouth was turned upwards into a big smile. The emotions that Sakura was feeling from him very nearly overwhelm her. Instead of the usual secretive husband of hers, he was pouring every feeling that he was feeling at the moment into their hug. There was not a filter this time that Sasuke usually puts up when faced with an emotional event. Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes as she hugged him tighter. Sasuke released her from the hug ever so slightly and used his one hand to cup Sakura's face. Green eyes stared back into the mismatched ones. Sasuke placed his forehead against Sakura's,

"Thank you, Sakura." He whispered before closing the gap between them with his lips on hers.

 _~Up next, Day 3~_


	3. 200 Kisses

A/N: Okay, my updates might be slightly slower in the few days to come as I'll be pretty swamped with college work. However, I will do my best to write and finish the prompts before the day ends. Who enjoyed the end of Gaiden? I know I did! I'm still not completely over it. What a wonderful time to be alive!

This chapter is slightly longer than intended, but I hope this makes up for the lateness. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: As usual, Naruto and its characters do not belong to me. They belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Konoha High organises a carnival to raise money for charity. Sakura needs to man the kissing booth. What could possibly happen? (Told in mostly Ino's POV)**

* * *

 _ **Day 3: Carnival**_

* * *

"-and everyone is to participate in making the carnival a success. That will be all for this morning's assembly. You are all dismissed!" Principal Hiruzen Sarutobi announced to the entire population of Konoha High School. Excited whispers were heard throughout the assembly hall, each and every student was looking forward to their school's annual carnival. Their school's carnivals were known to be very successful and fun, making headlines throughout their prefecture. Haruno Sakura, eyes shining, clasped her hand together in front of her, and turned to her best friend, Yamanaka Ino, who stood beside her.

"Pig, what do you think our class is going to do this year? I do hope it is something new and not a haunted house again!" Sakura exclaimed as she and Ino walked to their class. Ino, who was on the school's committee leaned in closer to Sakura,

"I heard that classes will split into two respective teams so that we would have more attractions this year!" Ino whispered. Sakura's eyes widened,

"Do you think we can pull that off? It's needs quite a lot of people just to hold one event." Sakura whispered back in astonishment. Ino nodded,

"I think we can pull that off since this is a huge school, there would be enough manpower." Ino provides.

They entered their class and saw that many of their fellow classmates excitedly conversing amongst each other and not bothering with their seating arrangement, much to the dismay of their homeroom teacher, Umino Iruka. He was trying to control the students but they were much too excited and loud to listen to him. He sighed and nodded his head towards the Class Representative, Nara Shikamaru who slouched beside him, hands in his pants pocket. Shikamaru sighed and muttered 'Troublesome' under his breath. He proceeded to slam his palm against the blackboard which emitted a loud 'BANG' and effectively silenced the whole class.

"Guys, get back to your seats. You are all getting out of hand." He commanded. Everyone immediately scrambled back into their seats, not wanting to test the temper of their usually laid back classmate. Iruka-sensei sighed in relief before he faced the class, smiling god-naturedly,

"Alright class, as you all know we will be having our annual school carnival next month. I know that since we have just finished the examinations, everyone spare time to fully participate in this event." He started, knowing full well that everyone was excited to participate anyways, maybe, except Shikamaru. He picked up a chalk and turned towards the blackboard behind him, drawing a white line down the middle of it. He then turned back towards the class full of students who were now staring confusedly at the board. He cleared his throat,

"Students, this year, in order to provide more attractions, Principal Sarutobi and the Parent-Teacher Association decided that each class should be divided into groups of two so that each group can handle an activity each. Of course-" He was interrupted by a rather excited student, Rock Lee.

"Iruka-sensei! If we spilt our class in half, there wouldn't be enough students in each group to handle a major project, like say, a haunted house and a café!" He exclaimed, doing the calculations in his head. Iruka smiled, ever patient with his students,

"That was what I was getting to, Rock Lee. Now, the division of the class does not need to be of equal number of students in both groups. Now, before you make any jokes about classes with an odd number of students, listen. It was carefully determined that the group with more students should handle a big project while the smaller group handles a smaller one. Also, one of the activity was to be done indoors and the other one outdoors." Iruka-sensei paused to catch his breath,

"Now, let's say for example that the activity with a bigger group is opening a class restaurant and the smaller one does a lucky draw stand. The group with the restaurant can have it in the classroom itself while the group with the lucky draw stand can do it outside the school building, but within the compounds, like the school's field." He finished his sentence just as a hand shot up.

"Yes Naruto, what is it?" Iruka-sensei asked the class' hyperactive blonde, and indicated the blonde to stand up.

"Iruka-sensei! What should our class do this year?" Naruto all but shouted from the back of the class where he stood at his place. Iruka smiled fondly, he was rather fond of the blonde. Iruka-sensei produced a blank sheet of paper from his bag,

"We are now going to discuss what we are going to do and cast votes." Iruka-sensei announced.

It was decided that the class would set up a café and a rather western twist, a kissing booth. The students had decided on the kissing booth as a joke but Iruka-sensei had taken it down with consideration. And when the votes were cast, it ended up being on the blackboard. They then decided that the majority of the class were to set up the café while the kissing booth was to be handled by the smaller group. Even though they had suggested the kissing booth, the students were now flustered at the prospect of kissing paying strangers. They pleaded with Iruka-sensei to pick another activity. Iruka gently reprimanded them that they were to face the consequences of their actions while wearing an evil grin on his face.

After the students calmed down, although still nervous, Ino voiced the biggest question in the room, 'How were they going to divide the class into the two groups?' Outspoken, adventurous Inuzuka Kiba posed a solution to the dilemma that was; students who were in a relationship were to man the café while students who were single were in charge of the booth. Seeing as how many of the students in class were in a relationship, the majority of the class sighed in relief. Iruka-sensei called for the class to separate into two groups, students who were single to the left and students who were in a relationship to the right, so that he could take down their names. The 'Singles' group on left quickly looked amongst themselves to see which one of their friends shared their misfortune, and also to make sure no one could sneak away with it. One of said students, Ino, quickly realised that her best friend, Haruno-who-was-definitely-single-Sakura, was not in their group. Baby blue eyes quickly scanned the group on the right, immediately picking out the tell-tale pink hair amongst a sea of darker colours.

"Forehead! Get your butt over here right this instance! Everyone knows that you're single, damn it!" Ino hollered to the other side of the classroom. Everyone at the right parted, getting out of the way of the blonde's annoyed glare (no one messes with Yamanaka Ino). Sakura whipped her head towards the direction of the blonde's shrill voice, looking annoyed.

"Pig, I _am_ in a relationship!" Sakura retorted. Ino snorted (unladylike, but who dares to point it out?),

"Yeah right, and your hair's totally not pink! Give it up forehead! You keep saying you're in a relationship but where's the proof? How come none of us has ever seen him before?" Sakura's eyes flashed, and the students around her stood even further away (you mess with Sakura, you mess with death).

"He's from another school; of course none of you have seen him before!" Sakura argued (only she dares to do it with Yamanaka Ino). Ino's eyes gleamed mischievously.

"Oh? Then show me photographic evidence and I'll drop the subject!" Ino challenged her best friend and rival. Sakura looked crestfallen and mumbled under her breath. Ino, strained to hear,

"What did you say Forehead?" Ino asked. Sakura glared at her,

"I said I transferred all his pictures into my laptop last night! There isn't currently a single picture of him in my phone right now." She was blushing heavily. Ino smirked,

' _Check mate'_ she thought to herself. She flipped her ponytail behind her,

"Well now Forehead, isn't that such a coincidence? Without the evidence, we will rule you as 'Single'. So, please do come over and join us on the left." Ino gestured to her fellow comrades. Sulking, Sakura slowly trudged her way to the left side of the class, ignoring the snickers of her fellow classmates. Seeing as how the drama ended, Iruka-sensei announced that he was going to take their names down.

As it turns out, the 'Singles' group consisted of five girls and six boys. The girls were Sakura, Ino, Tenten, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Karin. The boys consisted of Sai, Kiba, Uzumaki Naruto, Hozuki Suigetsu, Hyuuga Neji, and Rock Lee. Hinata was then switched over to the group managing the café because everyone knew that she would only faint if made to kiss anyone. With that, everybody knew their roles and got ready for the carnival.

 _~One month later~_

Fireworks decorated the sky as Konoha High School officially announced the opening of its annual carnival. The school was bustling with activity as visitors started pouring into the three day event. Many stalls were set up within the school grounds; there were food stalls that sold Takoyaki, Ramen, grilled squid and refreshments; game stalls, toy stalls, and even a stage where performances were being held. Inside the school help many other events; a maze, a haunted house, a photography studio, a café and even some tour around the school for prospective students. It was a really successful event, with many visitors, including students from other schools.

However, one of the biggest attractions was the kissing booth. Many people decided to give it a try since they have never seen such a thing in Japan. With its big sign that said, 'Get a kiss for only 150 yen! Girls or guys do not matter! Be it on the cheeks or on the lips, we don't mind!' and the attractive students behind it, it was no wonder that the kissing booth became popular almost immediately. The students manning the booth had set a schedule so that there was at least pair at the booth, waiting to be kissed while the rest of them could go enjoy the carnival or make sure that nothing too explicit could happen. There were strict rules of not fondling the students and other inappropriate acts. Taking photos and selfies were allowed but there was strictly no filming. Karin and Kiba were to start; and although they were nervous at first, they slowly managed to loosen up and enjoy themselves. Some of the more reserve customers asked only for a peck on the cheeks while the daring ones demanded a French kiss.

Ino was buying some food for Sakura and herself when someone caught her eyes. He was tall, dark and mysterious with black hair and equally dark eyes. His gaze was cool and indifferent and when it landed on Ino, she could have sworn that her legs were turning jelly.

'Where is Forehead when I need her the most?! She has to see this…this walking chocolate!' With that, Yamanaka Ino flipped open her phone to text her best friend. In her adrenaline filled mind (that happens when you see someone really good looking, she swears), it occurred to her that Sakura could have gone back to the booth after buying drinks, seeing as it was about time for her to relieve Karin.

'Hurry up Forehead! You're missing a great sight!' Ino pleaded desperately in her mind, waiting for a text from Sakura. Then, she had a brilliant, absolutely brilliant idea. She would go and invite him to their booth! That way, Sakura could get a chance to see him and maybe snag a kiss (What a great best friend she is, Ino mentally clapped herself on the back)! Lifting her eyes to where she had last saw him; she was shocked out of her skin when she noticed that he was right in front of her! She blushed heavily; he was even better looking up close! He stared at her, his face giving nothing away; and then, very slowly, the corners of his lips lifted slightly into a smirk. Ino stopped breathing, her eyes widened, his smirk was almost predatory and she felt like a very willing prey.

He lifted his hand, the hand that held a flyer and Ino was shaken out of her daze. She remembered those flyers, she and the group had stuck them on notice boards all over the school. Those flyers were to promote the kissing booth, with pictures and schedule of the students involved. Ino looked at the flyer, conveniently concealing her face when it broke out into a smirk, what a willing guy; he practically waltzed into her plan! She revealed her face from behind the flyer, smiling cheerfully,

"Oh, I see that you are interested in the kissing booth?" She asks, smiling sweetly,

"Hn." He nods, smirk still in place. Ino practically beamed,

"Well now, you came to just the right person! Please, follow me." She started walking. 'Walking chocolate' (her nickname for him) followed her, easily keeping up with her with his long legs. As he walked next to her, Ino noticed what he was wearing, it was the school uniform of Konoha Private Institution, a prestigious school located on the opposite side of town.

 _'_ _Wow, he has got to be loaded! Only children from really powerful families get to go to that school.'_ Ino thought to herself. With the booth in sight, Ino motioned to him where it was, before pacing with determination towards the booth, to give Sakura a heads up.

Behind the booth, Sakura was sipping her drink, pacing back and forth, she was really nervous. Should she be doing this? No. But can she get out of this situation? Also no. She sighed, there was no helping, she was royally screwed, that, and she was hungry. Where was Ino with the food?! Suddenly, Ino appeared in front of her.

 _'_ _Ah, food's here.'_ Sakura thought before feeling herself being shaken back and forth by her best friend,

"Forehead! Did you not read my text?" A nod of the head,

"Then why didn't you answer it? Oh my god, you are so infuriating! How am I your best friend?" A shrug of the shoulders, Sakura was used to this. Sakura rolled her eyes,

"Pig, I have other things to worry about right now. I can't do this! I can't kiss strangers! My boyfriend and I wouldn't like it, thankyouverymuch!" Sakura all but shrieked. It was Ino's turn to roll her eyes,

"Forehead, we've been through this. This 'boyfriend' of yours, Sasuke, was it? Well, he is imaginary and that doesn't count!"

"But-!" Sakura tried to interrupt. Ino shushed her,

"No 'but's! Now, I have a surprise for you!" Ino exclaimed in a sing-song voice, pushing Sakura towards the front of the booth. Sakura attempted to stop her,

"I'm hungry Ino! I need to eat! I have five minutes left before my shift starts!" Sakura protested. Ino only clucked her tongue at her,

"Sakura, that bento had garlic in it! Do me a favour and don't kill the client with bad breath, especially a hot one like him!" Ino pleaded, pushing Sakura further and further into the front where Walking Chocolate was. Sakura tried pulling back, Ino turned her head towards Suigetsu who near the front,

"Suigetsu, don't let Walking Chocolate walk away or kiss anyone else besides Sakura!" She hollered. Suigetsu was confused,

"Walking who?" He asked. Ino sighed,

"He's tall, has jet black hair and incredibly mesmerizing eyes! His uniform says that he's from Konoha Private Institution. I think he should be in front now!" She described the stranger to Suigetsu. Suigetsu laughed,

"Karin offered a kiss for free but he declined it! He said that he was waiting for the next person on shift, which is Sakura!" Suigetsu chuckled at his unfortunate red headed friend. Ino, dragging Sakura, was at the front now,

"You're so lucky forehead! Your first customer is quite the looker!" She whispered excitedly to Sakura, whose eyes were as wide as saucers, with her eyes on her first client.

 _'_ _That's probably how I looked when I first saw him too.'_ Ino mused silently to herself, before planting her best friend in front of the stranger, with only the booth separating them, which was not big a distance at all.

Walking Chocolate smirked at her best friend, who, to Ino's exasperation, was frozen solid in her spot, like a dear in the headlights. Ino nudged Sakura, but to no avail. Ino groaned internally, before deciding to take matters into her own hands,

"Sir, if you want to kiss Sakura over here, you'd have to pay 150 yen. You would be the first customer to kiss her too so we'll throw in a Polaroid photo for half the price. Would you be interested?" Ino, with the camera in hand, smiles charmingly, rather proud of her marketing skills. Walking Chocolate's smirks seems too widen in amusement,

"Oh? A kiss for 150 yen? Done." With that, he slammed the money onto the table, lifted Sakura's head by her chin with his right hand's thumb and index finger, and planted his lips on her. With the aggressive movement that he had showed, everyone expected him to be rough and dominating with the kiss. Surprisingly, his kiss was gentle as he coaxed her out of her state of shocked. Slowly, Sakura's eyes fluttered close and she immersed herself within the kiss. Walking Chocolate licked the Sakura's bottom lips, seeking permission to enter her oral crevices, to which Sakura immediately complied (not that Ino blames her; she'd be willing to do that too). Without notice, Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, kissing him like she's been waiting for him her whole life. Ino giggled and squealed, mentally cheering Sakura on, she snapped a picture.

After what seemed like a long time, they finally parted, each gasping for air. They looked into each other's eyes, and everyone around them felt the sexual tension they were emitting. The people gathered around them seemed to have increase exponentially after that public display. Some had covered their eyes in embarrassment, but peeked through the gap between their fingers. Suddenly, they all cheered, which shocked Sakura back into reality. Blushing heavily, she ducked her head to hide her embarrassment. Walking Chocolate had chuckled and maintained his cool demeanour, although if observed carefully, there was a hint of pink on his cheeks as well. Many guys rushed forward to try and get a kiss from Sakura, waving their money in the air. Ino cleared her throat,

"Alright sir, this is the Polaroid picture, that would be another 200 yen please. To everyone else, please get in line if you want to get a kiss from Sakura over here!" Ino gestured towards her best friend. Imagine her shock when Walking Chocolate not only paid for the picture, he had also placed an additional 30,000 yen on the table. Ino's jaw dropped as she looked at the money, before raising her gaze towards him in confusion. He smirked,

"That is to pay for another 200 kisses from her. Since 200 kisses would take some time, I would like to whisk her away while the booth can continue with its business." He reasoned with Ino. He turned his head towards Sakura,

"Sakura, if that is alright with you?" He questioned her. Sakura could only nod her head happily in agreement (Ino REALLY couldn't blame her) before she walked around the booth and linked her hand with his. Ino was shocked,

"Wait sir! You do not have permission to do that! We wouldn't know what you are planning up your sleeves!" Ino desperately tried to reel her best friend back to safety. The handsome stranger turned towards her and pulled Sakura back into his side,

"Don't worry. I would never let harm befall her, Yamanaka Ino." He smirked devilishly before he turned Sakura and himself around, preparing to leave. Ino's eyes widen,

"Who are you? How did you know my name?" She questioned loudly, he only turned his head to look over his shoulder, smirked and said,

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. Didn't Sakura tell you that I am her boyfriend?" He then turned his head back and walked away with a giggling Sakura.

Ino could only stare at their backs in disbelief.

 **EXTRA:**

"N…Naruto-kun, here's 150 yen…"

"Hinata-chan? What is it for?"

"I…I would like a k-k-kiss…"

"Eh?!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Hinata-chan, if you wanted one, I would have given it to you for free."

"?!"

 _~Up next, Day 4~_


	4. P-Po-Poker Face

A/N: I am so sorry this is so late! I was having some difficulty trying to come up with a story for this one. Thinking too much is starting to take its toll on me… How am I going to survive for another 27 days?! Anyways, I hope to once again (soon) find my inspiration. I hope that you enjoy this piece! Oh, and I am not being medically accurate here. It's just for the sake of the story. Italics refer to the past.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and its characters; they belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Sakura and Sasuke having troubles to conceive.**

* * *

 _ **Day 4: The Games We Play**_

* * *

They had been trying for months to conceive a child of their own. But after almost a year with no results whatsoever, Sakura decided to get a check-up done at the hospital.

* * *

 **Team 7 (genin)**

 _Three pairs of eyes looked at one another in total concentration, every move they took was thought thoroughly ahead of time, everything boiled down to luck, a single mistake and they were in deep trouble. Slowly, with deliberate caution, Naruto raised his hand…and picked a card from Sasuke's hand. With a shout of joy, he placed down the last pair of cards in his hand, two Jacks, a heart and a spade. Team 7 was killing time waiting for their Kakashi-sensei who was forever late. They decided to play Old Maid today; and now it was down to Sasuke and Sakura since Naruto obviously finished his hand first. Sasuke and Sakura turned to face each other; ignoring Naruto who was excitedly celebrating his victory. Sasuke was down to his last card and that meant that Sakura was the one who held the Joker and the card to pair with his. She held out her cards in front of him, eyeing his every move. Sasuke hovered his hand on one of the cards and watched for any change in Sakura's expression. Sakura had a really bad poker face Sasuke noticed as he moved his hand from one card to another. He noticed that her eyes gleamed when his hand was above the card on the right while her eyes dulled when he placed his hand above the card on the left._

 _'_ _She couldn't be deliberately fooling me, could she?' He thought to himself. She WAS smart enough to do that though, he considered. Sakura would definitely give us misdirection. Yes, he thought, Sakura would resort to this method, especially now when there was a very thin line between winning the game and losing it. With that, Sasuke made up his mind and picked a card…_

* * *

 **Present (married)**

Sasuke was reading in the living room when the front door open and close before the shuffling of feet could be heard. He paid it no mind; he'd recognise that chakra signature anywhere; it was his wife, Sakura had just come home from her shift at the hospital. After a while, Sasuke felt that something was very wrong; his wife was not being her usual self. He knew that no matter what mood she was in, she'd always come to him, either to complain or to gush. Slowly, he stood up and headed towards the kitchen, the direction in which he had heard the shuffling of feet go to. There, he saw Sakura sitting at the head of the table, her back towards him, reading some files from the hospital. He proceeded to stand behind her and peered over her shoulders, feeling equal parts concern and curious.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" The concerned husband questioned. Sakura's head immediately snapped up when she heard him speak while she simultaneously shut the files.

"Sasuke-kun, you're home?" She eyed him wearily, wondering how much he saw. Sasuke's facial expression hardly changed except the slight raise of an eyebrow but Sakura caught the calculating gaze in his eyes.

"What are you reading, Sakura?" He asked her. She blinked her eyes at him,

"Oh, these are just some patient's files from the hospital." She replied easily, smiling at him. Sasuke noticed the tightness of her smile, how similar she looked like Sai at that very moment. He remembered Sai once told him that Sakura was awfully good at faking smiles. Sasuke was annoyed, what was so bad that she had to hide it from him?

"Tch, Sakura, we both know that you're lying. Give it up already." He demanded brusquely. He saw a flash of hurt in her eyes before it disappeared and felt a pang of guilt in his heart (always hurting her so much. When will he stop?), but decided to push through; he had to know what was troubling his wife so that maybe he could offer some help.

"It's nothing, Sasuke-kun. Really, I swear." Sakura waved him off, albeit somewhat tersely.

"Sakura, I know you well enough that I would know if you were hiding something that was hurting you. I care for you, which is why I need to know if I can help you with what that is bothering you." He grasped one of her hand in his larger one, circling circles onto her hand,

"Please Sakura, quit playing games." He lifted her hand and placed a light kiss on top of it.

* * *

 _He had picked the right card, leaving Sakura with the Joker. He smirked as she sighed and hung her head in defeat. She could never hide anything from him, after all, he had to have sharp eyes, and he WAS a Sharingan wielder._

* * *

Tears formed in her eyes before they started rolling down her cheeks with increasing speed. Shocked, Sasuke quickly pulled her into a hug, consoling her. He slowly walked them towards the couch in the living room so that they could be in a more comfortable position. As they sat down, she sobbed harder and clutched onto him like a lifeline. Sasuke gripped her tightly and rubbed her back, allowing her to spill her emotions onto him. After some time, once she was calmed enough, with only a few sniffles here and there, she decided to open up to him. It turns out, the reason they were having difficulties trying to conceive was due to the wound she had received from Sasori during their battle. Sasuke knew which one; it was the wound she had received from being pierced through with a poisoned blade. Apparently, the injury was not only life threatening, it had also delivered considerable damage to her womb. Sakura was devastated when she realised that the chance of her carrying on the Uchiha line was almost zero. Sasuke consoled her, he told her that they would find a way (provided it wouldn't harm her health) to overcome this. He promised her that they would face this together, as a family. He promised her that this did not mean the end of the world. He promised her that his love for her would never waver no matter what happened. He promised her a lot of things that day, all of which he intended to keep.

A year and a half later, they welcomed baby Sarada into their lives as proud parents. He silently made a promise to them that he will make sure mother and daughter would be safe for as long as he could help it.

 _~Up next, Day 5~_


	5. Help Needed!

A/N: This is rushed as well, but enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and its characters; they belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: The genin are having a test. (Set before the Uchiha massacre.)**

* * *

 _ **Day 5: Test**_

* * *

The whole classroom of elementary shinobis was silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the scribbling of pencils on papers and the occasional coughs. Head were all faced down in concentration; this was one of the more important written tests that were conducted.

Little Sasuke scratched his head in confusion; he should have concentrated more on the topics that Iruka-sensei hinted were going to be emphasised on the test. He had easily done 'Identify the Weapon', smoothly answered 'Shinobi Rules' and other various topics. Now, he was stuck at 'Shinobi Families and Their Abilities', one of his poorer subjects. It wasn't that he was no good at it; it was just that this topic concentrated on the history of some of the more notable clans in Konoha; and little Sasuke knew that history was not his strongest subject; he often was confused by what was written in the textbooks. He sulked silently; it was just his luck that the test focused more on the Nara and Sarutobi clans instead of the Uchiha or Hyuuga clans.

Sasuke knew that this part of the test held the majority of the marks and if he left it blank, he could get a failing grade with only his previous test results to average it out. Sasuke despaired; he was supposed to be a better shinobi than his Nii-san! No, he NEEDED to be better than Nii-san so that Tou-san could be proud of him instead for once! He gulped; knowing what he was going to do next was against the examination rules. However, the need to be better than his Nii-san won and slowly (really, Sasuke hated to do this), Sasuke turned his head slightly to his left, to see if he could get some answers from his fellow classmate. He internally cheered when he saw that the student on his left was none other than Nara Shikamaru!

Shikamaru was the smartest amongst his fellow classmates, something Sasuke noticed with both envy and awe. Little Sasuke stealthily peeked at his classmate's paper, only to be thoroughly disappointed. Of course, Nara Shikamaru was also known as the laziest kid in the whole of elementary school. True to himself, instead of finishing the test, Shikamaru had instead decided to take a nap. Sasuke dropped his head into his folded arms on the table and lament at the missed opportunity. He then lifted his head, eyes filled with determination; no, Uchiha Sasuke was not going to give up so easily! He nodded to himself and turned to look at his classmate to his right, only to accept defeat that he's going to fail this test, as he saw the class' hyperactive blonde, Uzumaki Naruto, looking utterly demolished by the test. Sasuke turned his head back,

 _'_ _That's it, I'm doomed. Nii-san will forever be better than me. I'm sure that he aces every single test, with additional marks!'_ He sniffed slightly. He slumped onto the table and stared at the wall clock, willing it to stop his suffering already.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a pink blob moving. He laid his head on his arms and figured that he might as well see what caught his attention. Apparently, the pink blob he saw was the head of the class' second smartest, Haruno Sakura. She was seated right in front of Naruto a row below him, and that meant that Sasuke could see her papers very well. To Sasuke's delight, he saw that she had accidentally pushed her answer sheets a little too far out, allowing him to read it with ease. With further inspection, he saw that the answer sheets were exactly on the topic he was stuck at, 'Shinobi Families and Their Abilities'. Little Sasuke was beyond delighted that he immediately took to copying down the answers.

As he took a second glance, he noticed the bright green orbs of Sakura's eyes staring at him. Little Sasuke froze in shock, was Sakura going to tell Iruka-sensei? If she was to do that, he might as well have failed his entire family. Sasuke pleaded desperately to whatever god that had been avoiding him the entire day, please don't make her tell! To his astonishment, Sakura only flashed him a sweet smile that brightened up her entire face before turning to look forwards while discreetly pushing out her answer sheets a little more.

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief before he continued copying with gratefulness towards his saviour. However, if Sasuke were to concentrate more on him and not on copying, he would have notice the tightness of his throat, the wild thumping of his heart, the burning of his cheeks and the occasional glances he sneaked at the pinkette.

 _~Up next, Day 6~_


	6. Practice Makes Perfect

A/N: Okay, short one this time. I should start writing earlier so that I can write longer fics. What type of fics do you guys prefer; shorter ones or longer ones? This one is a bit more Sakura centric than it is SasuSaku centric, however, squint and you might glimpse it. Anyways, enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters because if I did, it would have turned out as a shoujo manga instead. They belong to the extraordinary Kishi-sensei!

 **Summary: Sakura needs help training and help she will get.**

* * *

 _ **Day 6: Skin Deep**_

* * *

Sakura saw the way Naruto and Sasuke fought in the Land of Waves to protect her; she saw how Kakashi didn't expect her to master climbing a tree that quickly; she saw how much they underestimated her but mostly, she saw how Sasuke had been injured fighting Haku.

On the journey back to Konoha, Sakura made the decision that she will train harder so that she could be a capable kunoichi, so that she could protect her loved ones. She arrived at the training grounds earlier than Naruto and Sasuke so that she could improve on her foundation. Then, just half an hour before the other members of her team arrive, she'd rushed back home to clean up before making it back to the training grounds. This way, she thought she would surprise her teammates with her improvement.

She had been training for over two hours now, practicing her kunai and shuriken throwing skills. Somehow, she was not doing a great job at it, she was off her target by a few inches and that really bugged her. Sakura sighed for the nth time, how was she going to improve if she didn't even know what was wrong with her stance? She had followed the textbook exactly, so what was wrong? Suddenly, she heard rustling from the bushes behind her and quickly spun around.

"Who's there?" She called into the direction the noise came from. Slowly, a figure stepped out from the shadows of the bushes,

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura exhaled, completely in shock. There he was with his hands in his pockets, standing in front of her. Sasuke looked past her, towards the targets and the weapons that miss them. Seeing his line of sight, Sakura blushed, that was why she wanted to train without Sasuke or Naruto as surely they will laugh at her bad aim. She cringed, expecting Sasuke to scoff at her attempts. To her surprise, instead of doing so, Sasuke took out a kunai of his own,

"When you throw, make sure your wrist is relaxed as it is your wrist that is the one guiding the direction of the shuriken," Sasuke instructed before throwing the shuriken where it landed dead centre of the target. Sakura looked in awe, before she turned to look at him,

"You're not laughing at me?" She asked shyly, eyes looking downwards. Sasuke snorted,

"Why would I laugh at someone's attempt at training? It is attitude when they forgo training and instead laze around that I hate." He replied, looking straight at her. Sakura smiled softly,

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." She picked up a shuriken and as he instructed, relaxed her wrist and aimed. Taking a deep breath, she threw it at the target, where it hit nearer to the target than her previous attempts. She turned her head towards Sasuke in astonishment and smiled brightly when he nodded in turn, smirking a little. Grinning, Sakura turned to pick up her weapons when Sasuke spoke,

"If you want, I can help with your training, before Naruto and Kakashi comes. I need the extra training too and it is better to than with a partner than alone." Sasuke told her, slightly looking away. Sakura turned to look at him, her green eyes shining before she nodded her head enthusiastically.

"I would love that, Sasuke-kun! Thank you so much!" She beamed at him.

From that day onwards until the Chunnin exams, Sakura woke up extra early, forgo her usual routine of dolling herself up and instead headed towards the training grounds where she and Sasuke trained in weapons handling or sparred together. Yes, she did receive more bruises and cuts thanks to her additional training, but really, those wounds were only skin deep compared to the progress that she had made as a kunoichi of Konoha.

 _~Up next, Day 7~_


	7. Don't Cross To The Other Side!

A/N: An early chapter! I really need to discipline myself to update somewhat consistently. Please review as I would love to know your opinions so that I can improve my writing to create better fics for you to read. Thanks! Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Naruto and its characters and plots do not belong to me. They belong rightfully to Kishi-sensei!

 **Summary: Sasuke on the verge of life and death.**

* * *

 _ **Day 7: Mortality**_

* * *

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto yelled.

The last thing that Sasuke remembered was fighting Haku and taking the hit Haku had intended for Naruto.

 _'_ _Seriously, the dobe was the dumbest ninja in history!'_ Sasuke chided. He took notice of the state he was in; floating in a void of total darkness.

 _'_ _Weird,'_ He thought to himself,

 _'_ _I expected at least a light at the end of the tunnel or me floating over my dead body or something.'_ He contemplated silently.

 _'_ _I wonder, what is going to happen to me now?'_ He pondered, floating in the abyss of nothingness. Suddenly, he thought of something,

 _'_ _I have not avenged my clan yet! Itachi still runs free, without facing the consequences of his actions! I have failed my clan! To think that I would die before I even got to fight him!'_ He thought in anger and humiliation.

 _'_ _No, I cannot die just yet! There is still so much that I have to do! I will not die without achieving anything!'_ He yelled angrily in his mind, trying to fight against the darkness that threatened to consume him _._ He tried to move his body, or what he thought was his body but he could not feel anything. Sasuke turned desperate,

 _'_ _Please, to any god that is out there! Please, bring me back to life! I only need to live to the day that I see Itachi die! After that, you can do with me what you please. I wouldn't care if you wanted me dead then! Just, please, I need more time!'_ He tried to bargain but only silence answered him. He felt the heaviness of depression land on him,

 _'_ _I am such a failure. I can never face my clan ever again. I am so sorry that I couldn't avenge your deaths. I am so sorry that your deaths were in vain. I should have trained harder. I should have been better!'_ He thought with a heavy heart.

 _'_ _I knew that a shinobi's life was short, but I never thought it could be this short. This just shows that there is a fine line between life and death. That death could be just a few minutes away from you and you'd never know it. How short life truly is. How fragile a life could be. In the end, I'm only mortal and I cannot escape death'_ Sasuke pondered to himself.

From the start till now, without the sensation of passing time, Sasuke felt like he had been floating for years, when slowly, his ears started to pick up some sounds. He strained to listen and make out the sound,

"Uuu..." Someone sobbed and sniffled. Who was that?

"Sasuke-kun…" Was that Sakura?

"Uuu… Sasuke-kun, don't die!" Sakura cried. Sasuke suddenly felt a heaviness on him, causing his breathing to be strained. Wait, breathing? He was already dead, why would he need to breathe? That silly Sakura, she was probably crying over him, he thought as he felt warmth spread from the weight he felt; Sakura's warmth. Slowly, Sasuke started to regain some feeling. He was able to feel the tips of his fingers and gradually, little by little, it crept throughout his body. Feeling strong enough, he cracked open his eyes and took a deep breath,

"Sakura, you're heavy." He wheezed slightly. Startled, Sakura straightened immediately, and Sasuke took in her sight. Puffy red eyes, tears streaming down her face, snot leaking from her nose, sure, she looked worse for wear, but Sasuke could care less. Really, Sakura had just brought him back from the realm of darkness and he was grateful; grateful for her pulling him back to the world of consciousness and grateful that she cared for him enough to do so.

 _~Up next, Day 8~_


	8. Confession Time?

A/N: Wow, writing these fics is a test of imagination, skill and dedication. I tip my hat to the fanfiction writers that I have been following through the years. The way they find time to write down their fics or even come up with new plots amazes me. I would like to say a very big thank you to the fanfic writers that have supplied me with SasuSaku ever since I went online.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Naruto and its characters and plots do not belong to me. They belong rightfully to Kishi-sensei!

 **Summary: She looks at her reflection in the mirror and think, 'Yes, today will be the day!' The mission: Confess to Uchiha Sasuke!**

* * *

 _ **Day 8: Mission Impossible**_

* * *

She looked at her reflection in the mirror as she combed through the last of the knots in her hair. She grabbed the red ribbon Ino had given her to boost her confidence and tied it into a bow at the top of her head, allowing pink hair to frame her heart shaped face and wide forehead (the one part she hated the most about herself). Checking herself in the mirror again (just in case she had missed any flaw), she nodded, apparently satisfied with what she saw.

 _'_ _Today… today will definitely be the day that I tell him how I feel! I can do this!'_ She motivated herself. She had first saw him at the start of the school year, his name was Uchiha Sasuke. And at the tender age of 5, Haruno Sakura knew that she was crushing on him, hard.

* * *

Sakura and her friends had been having a fun time at orientation when they noticed how some of the students shushed, pointed and openly stare in a certain direction. Sakura and her group of friends were collectively confused, and after much inquiring from the other students, they were told a child from the Uchiha clan was to attend classes with them too. They had also heard that he was the little brother of the legendary Uchiha Itachi, rumoured to be the protégé of the Uchiha clan.

"Brother of Uchiha Itachi? He must be a genius like him!" Sakura's friends whispered amongst one another. Sakura wasn't too convinced,

"Ino-chan, is he really as great as people say he is?" She questioned her best friend. Ino to the turned to look at her in shock,

"You really don't know about the Uchiha clan?" The blonde questioned the pinkette. Sakura shook her head in response,

"No, I was never exposed much to Konoha's shinobi clans. I come from a long line of civilian families. I am probably the only one in my family that aspires to become a shinobi." Sakura explained to her. Ino nodded in understanding,

"Well, if you must know, amongst all the clans, the Uchiha clan is in charge of Konoha's Police Force. The Uchiha clan churns out some of the most powerful shinobi who specialises in fire nature. The current head of the clan is Uchiha Fugaku who has two sons, Itachi and Sasuke." Ino took a breather, to make sure that Sakura had kept up with her. Sakura nodded and Ino continued,

"So, logically speaking, it would be advantageous for all of us to be in the same year as Uchiha Sasuke as that means that clans can form a stronger bond with the Uchiha clan that holds a lot of power in society, thus strengthening their place in Konoha. However, the Uchiha clan is not the only clan that boasts power, there are also many other clans like the Hyuuga, Nara, Akimichi and my clan, the Yamanaka to name a few." Ino finished. Sakura stared at Ino in awe,

"Ino-chan, you sure do know a lot!" She exclaimed. Ino shrugged,

"I have to. One day, I have to be the one to take over the Yamanaka clan; so dad has already been drilling these words into me ever since I could talk!" Ino huffed in exasperation causing Sakura to giggle at her friend's antics. Ino looked around in suspicion before smirking devilishly at Sakura,

"I definitely want to befriend him, because from what I heard from the other girls, Uchiha Sasuke is very handsome!" Ino squealed into Sakura's ear. Sakura jerked at the noise before turning to look at Ino,

"Ino-chan, don't just make friends with others just because of how they look!" Sakura countered, blushing slightly. Ino laughed and slapped her jokingly on the back,

"Relax Sakura-chan; you don't have to be so shy about it. It was just a joke!" Ino grinned and guided her to their classes.

From that day onwards, Sakura could not help but took notice of Sasuke who happened to be in the same class as her and Ino. She took notice of the way he chewed the end of his pencil when he was trying to solve a difficult question. She noticed the grin he gave his friends when he accurately hit the target in practice. She had also notice the way the tips of his ears turned red when the girls that admired him gathered around him, only for him to put on a mask of indifference because he did not know how to handle them or tell them 'no'. But most importantly, she saw the look of adoration and bright smile he gave his mother or brother when they came to pick him up from school. She found herself giggling at whatever he did. Soon, she found herself following him around with the other girls from her school, cheering whenever he did something. She was infatuated with him and it didn't help that he had aristocratic features to go with his face!

* * *

She walked around aimlessly, mentally preparing herself on how she was going about with her confession to him. What if she stuttered halfway? What if she tripped and fell on her walk towards him? What if her tummy made a noise at the height of her anxiety? What if she thought too hard and jumbled up her words? Sakura shook her head and made a small noise of mortification. What if Sasuke-kun rejected her, because of her abnormally large forehead?! Immediately her hands fly to cover up her forehead in embarrassment. Tears welled up in her eyes, why was confessing your love to someone so hard? She felt her tummy churned uneasily, should she go ahead with the plan or give up? She took in her surrounding and realised that she had unconsciously entered the woods leading to the training grounds where Sasuke would usually train. Face flushing red (she decided that she couldn't face him today), she immediately turned to exit when something caught her eyes. Curiosity won over her timidity and she decided to go take a closer look.

Walking slowly so that she does not make a sound and keeping to the shadows of the trees, she circled the edge of the training ground, looking for whatever that had caught her attention. She spotted it and immediately crouched down low as to avoid being notice. As she peeked through the bushes, she saw that there, at the training grounds stood Uchiha Sasuke and Watanabe Ami and her two lackeys. Interested at what was happening, Sakura inched closer to get a better look and to hear the conversation. She noticed that Sasuke's back was towards Ami,

"Sasuke-kun, I- I need to tell you something." Ami stuttered in embarrassment while her two lackeys cheered her on. Sasuke, who noticed them earlier, turned to them, cocking his head in confusion. Ami swallowed,

"Sasuke-kun, I like you very much. Would you like to go out with me?" Ami confessed, bowing deeply. Sasuke looked surprise, but quickly masked it,

"Ah, no, I would prefer to train myself to be a better shinobi than going out with you. Sorry." Sasuke told her, clueless as how blunt his words had been. Ami was shocked to her core; no boy had rejected her before! Ducking her head in embarrassment, Ami managed to gather some of her dignity together and mumbled a soft 'Thank you for your time' before running off in the opposite direction, her lackeys closely following her.

Sakura was shocked as well, if that happened to Ami, won't it happen to her then? Quickly, she decided to leave the scene and head into the nearby park where she sat on the swing and contemplated her missed opportunity.

'This is impossible! How did anyone ever summon the courage to confess anyways?' She thought in despair, swinging herself gently. Although she was reluctant, she had to admit that Ami had more guts than her, a trait she secretly envied. Lost in her thoughts, Sakura didn't notice Ami and her two friends enter the park as well. Feeling miffed that she was rejected by Uchiha Sasuke, Ami decided to leash out her anger on her usual prey, Haruno Sakura. Ami approached her,

"Well, well, well, what do we have here, girls?" She sneered at Sakura while her friends chuckled and mock Sakura. Hearing the voice of her tormentor, Sakura's eyes immediately widened and her jaw dropped slightly in terror,

"A-Ami, what are you doing here?" Sakura questioned, terrified of what was to come. Although Ino had encouraged her to accept her forehead and boost her confidence, it didn't mean that Sakura had the bravery to go up against the people that bullied her. Ami scoffed haughtily,

"Don't you know that the park is open to public? Isn't there anything behind that huge forehead of your, Billboard Brow?" Ami mocked while her lackeys pointed and laugh at Sakura. Sakura stood up,

"I- I have to go now. My mother is expecting me to be back for dinner." Sakura tried to brush past them, towards the nearest exit. She felt a harsh tug on the shoulder, pulling her backwards which caused Sakura to lose her footing and fall onto the ground. Ami and her gang started laughing at her before picking up stones to throw at her. Sakura shielded her eyes, unable to stop them as they relentlessly showered her with rocks; Sakura also knew that the other kids wouldn't lift a finger to help her, she'd be lucky if they didn't join in as well. Suddenly, a voice called out,

"What are you doing?" Everyone was startled. Ami turned to give the newcomer a piece of her mind when she saw that the person who called out was no other than Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura peeked up and softly gasped, would Sasuke-kun help her? Ami gulped, immediately tossing the stone in her hand aside. Sasuke walked towards them and saw the girl they were bullying,

"Why are you doing that to her?" He glared at them. Ami's eyes were wide as saucers,

"Well, y-you see, Sasuke-kun-" Ami started only to be interrupted by Sasuke.

"There is never an excuse to bully someone. The only reason it happens is because of the bully themselves. You should know better. Now, get out of my sight." He lectured them. Wasting no time, Ami and her lackeys immediately fled. With them gone, Sasuke turned towards Sakura,

"Are you okay?" He softly asked her, offering his hand to her. Sakura nodded shyly before accepting the hand. Sasuke pulled her up to her feet, only to notice a deep cut along her arm,

"Hey, you got to have someone look at that." He motioned towards the wound. Sakura looked at it and widened her eyes in surprise, it was the first time she saw it. Noticing her look of surprise, Sasuke grabbed her hand, careful not to touch the cut.

"I am just going to clean the wound, okay? Once you get back home, you should have your mum check on it or something." He told her while opening his water bottle to pour the clean water on it. It stung and Sakura winced slightly, Sasuke said nothing but took an extra roll of bandages he carried to bandage it.

"I'm afraid that I am not the best at bandaging, so you really need to have it looked at." He tied the bandage. Sakura blushed, only noticing now that Uchiha Sasuke, the guy she was crushing on, had rescued her from Ami and tended to her wounds; she could just die happy now. Wait, she thought, wouldn't this be the best time for her to confess her love to him? She gathered her courage,

"Sasuke-kun-" she started, only to be interrupted by her crush.

"Alright, the bandage is secure now. I don't know if you're bullied a lot but, you should stand up to them! I know it takes a lot of courage but you shouldn't have to be subjecting yourself to them like that. If you really can't do that, maybe you can ask for help from others like your parents or friends? Anyways, what were you going to say?" Sasuke finished, suddenly realising that he had a habit of cutting people off. Sakura blushed and shook her head,

"Nothing much Sasuke-kun, I just wanted to say thank you." She smiled at him. He grinned back at her,

"No problem! This is the least I could do after you saved me in the test the other day! Anyways, I have to get back now. See you around!" With that, he had left the park, leaving Sakura to stare at his back in shock that slowly morphed into delight. She was ecstatic that he remembered her from the test! Slowly she made her way back home,

 _'_ _Maybe it just was not the right time to tell him yet. Another day then'_ she thought to herself, smiling cheerfully.

Mission status: In progress

 _~Up next, Day 9~_


	9. The Need To Protect

A/N: I suppose that this chapter deals more on how Sasuke didn't want to be weak any longer. The trauma part of the fic is from his encounters with various opponents that were stronger than him; or the trauma we have when we see that scene where he thanked Sakura, knocked her out and LEFT. Anyways, this is more of a drabble than a fic but I hope you enjoy it all the same.

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. Only Kishi-sensei was capable of creating this treasure of a manga.

 **Summary: Sasuke's POV on the night he left to go to that paedophilic Sannin.**

* * *

 _ **Day 9: Trauma**_

* * *

Sasuke awoke with a start, hand immediately grasping the kunai under his pillow, panting to catch his breath. He looked around the room in suspicion, sensing that he was being watched by those snake-like eyes. After moments of inactivity, he lowered his guard, but still holding on to the kunai, and breathed in deeply. He couldn't go on like this; he couldn't go on after seeing that he was so weak as compared to the others. Being weak was a vulnerability that he could not afford.

He closed his eyes and recalled the time where he and Sakura were attacked by Orochimaru; the time when Gaara entered a rampage which ended up hurting Sakura; the time Itachi entered the village and placed Sasuke in a genjutsu that he couldn't break out of. His brow furrowed, no, he has to get stronger so that he can defeat anyone that stood in his way. He remembers the power that flowed through him from the curse seal and unconsciously, his hand reached up to rub the spot where Orochimaru had bitten him. He closed his eyes in contemplation, and Sakura's face flashed in his mind, her bright smile, her laugh, her soft look of gratefulness when he told her that Naruto was the one that saved her from Gaara.

His eyes snapped open, Sharingan whirling in anger. No, he has to become stronger than Kakashi, than Gaara, than Orochimaru, then Itachi, than Naruto. He has to become stronger so that he could protect the ones that he cared about; so that he wouldn't lose anyone ever again; he needs the power to avenge his fallen clan members. Staying here in Konoha was making him soft, making him weak, making him lose focus on what was important.

Making the decision, he got out of bed and started packing; taking only what he needed. He made sure that everything he needed was in his pack before he took one last look at the photograph of team 7, silently saying his goodbyes and then heading out the door.

He walked out of his apartment, knowing that he was being watched by some of Orochimaru's spies. He paid them no attention knowing full well that they wouldn't attack him since Orochimaru needed him. As he neared the village gates, he saw that someone stood ahead of him.

"Sasuke-kun."

 _~Up next, Day 10~_


	10. Under The Same Sky

A/N: Ooh, I hope you guys like this one. It was quite fun to write this fic. I would have normally gone for the time where Sakura had cut her hair during her fight with the Sound Nins, but meh. Squint to see SasuSaku. You don't really have to though, since Sarada is the physical form of their love!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and its characters because they belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: The first time Sakura leaves Sarada for a mission.**

* * *

 _ **Day 10: Haircut**_

* * *

Uchiha Sarada had only ever known her mother with long, flowing pastel pink hair; she used to spend her time tying up her mother's pink hair into different styles; when her mother hugged her, she was shielded from the outside world by a cascade of pink; so it was a shock to her when she came home from school one day to find that her mother had chopped off her long locks and was sporting a shorter style in its place. Double checking whether it was her mother (who else but her mother had pink hair?), Sarada approached Sakura cautiously,

"Mama, what happened to your hair?" Sarada questioned softly. Surely, something big must have happened to mama's hair or she wouldn't have cut it. Sakura turned around to face her daughter,

"Hmm? Oh, you mean this?" Sakura gestured towards her shoulder length hair. Sarada nodded, eyeing the new hairstyle curiously. Sakura smiled softly,

"Well, mama has to go on a mission and having long hair is going to be a bother to take care of." Sakura explained gently. At that, Sarada's eyes widened,

"Mama, you're going on a mission? I thought that you only worked at the hospital or the children's clinic?" Sarada exclaimed in surprised. Sakura laughed slightly,

"Sarada, you seem to have forgotten that mama is first and foremost a shinobi of Konoha." Sakura kneeled so that she was eye to eye to Sarada, gently ruffling Sarada's hair. Sarada grabbed Sakura's hand on her head and pouted, Sakura cocked her head to the side in confusion. Sarada bit her lips,

"Mama, this would be the first time you leave the village since you had me. Do you really need to go?" Sarada's eyes were downcast. Sakura smiled sadly,

"Oh baby, mama would never want to leave your side. But your Naruto-ojisan personally requested me to head lead the team." She explained. Sarada's eyes widened,

"Does that mean that the mission is dangerous?" Sarada questioned, small hands gripping onto her mother's larger ones. Sakura gripped back,

"It is an S-rank mission…" Sakura started but saw Sarada's face turned gloomy and she quickly finished it,

"…but it's nothing that mama cannot handle. Don't worry Sara-chan; mama is just as strong as or stronger than papa!" Sakura grinned. Sarada didn't look too convinced,

"When does mama leave for the mission?" She asked sadly. Sakura's gaze saddened as well,

"I have to leave early tomorrow morning." Sakura answered her daughter. Sarada nodded,

"And how long would this mission take, mama?" Sarada continued. It was silent for a while before Sakura answered,

"A month at least, two max, we really do not have a confirmed time frame for the mission. It could take a while." Sakura answered truthfully. Suddenly, Sarada stepped closer to her mother, enveloping her in a hug and Sakura reciprocated it,

"That's quite a long time, mama." She muttered into her mother's embrace, which only caused Sakura to tighten her hold on Sarada.

"I know baby, mama knows. But mama promises you that mama will come back as soon as possible, okay? Sara-chan will be staying over at Shizune-obasan's for a while. She'll take care of Sara-chan and makes sure that Sara-chan is comfortable, alright?" Sakura elaborated to Sarada while softly stroking her daughter's hair. She felt Sarada nod,

"Sara-chan has to promise mama that she will be a good girl at Shizune-obasan's and that she will eat properly and study hard, okay?" Sakura requested. She heard a muffled 'Yes' from the tiny body in hugging her. Sakura stood up, carrying her daughter with her. Sarada pulled away slightly to look at her mother,

"I'm going to miss you, mama." Sarada sniffed, her eyes tearing up slightly behind her glasses; she was not used to being without her mother for long periods of time. Sakura smiled sadly at her daughter, bringing her face closer to Sarada's to nudge their noses together before resting her forehead on Sarada's. Sakura looked Sarada in the eyes,

"And I'm going to miss you too, my precious child." She pulled away, but not before placing a quick kiss on the tip of her daughter's nose,

"But Sara-chan, you know what? As long as we're under the same sky, we will forever be connected. Your thoughts and feelings will reach me as much as mine to you." Sarada agreed. Sakura then continued,

"However, if you want, I can leave a part of Katsuyu-sama with you so that we can communicate easily." Sakura offered. Sarada's eyes shined,

"Mama will do that?" Sarada asked with enthusiasm. She had only heard about her mother's summoning in the tales passed from the villagers about the legendary three-way deadlock. Sakura nodded, happy that her daughter had cheered up. Sakura started walking towards Sarada's room,

"Now Sara-chan, it is about time that you took a shower, dinner will be ready soon." Sakura said as she placed Sarada back onto the floor. Sarada looks up to her mother,

"Will mama sleep with me tonight?" Sarada pleaded softly. Sakura smiled,

"Of course, Sara-chan." At that, Sarada beamed brightly and entered her room.

"Mama will also tell you about the adventures that mama had with papa when we were travelling if you want to." Sakura added. Sarada who was in her room immediately ran out to hug her mother at the waist.

"Thank you, mama." She exclaimed happily. Sakura ruffled her hair,

"Of course Sara-chan. Now, go clean up."

"Yes, mama!"

 _~Up next, Day 11~_


	11. The Perfect Combination!

A/N: Wow, I was really stuck with this one, I had no idea how was I to go about it; because in my head, only Sakura made it to Chunnin and then to Jounin while Naruto and Sasuke never really did graduate from genins, did they? They just powered up like mad, achieve god-like skills and powers and that's about it. Naruto took it a step further by jumping to Hokage from genin, just like that. I really do hope that Kishi does explain to us what happened to the two dorks. It would be really funny imagining the two of them going against real genins and they'd have to hold back, cause, you know, to not kill them…

Disclaimer: Naruto and it characters belong to Kishi-sensei. I only write fanfics.

 **Summary: The long awaited Chunnin Exams!**

* * *

 _ **Day 11: Graduate**_

* * *

'BOOM' the earth cracked before it exploded under her fist, sending a resounding shockwave for at least half a mile, causing the spectators to hold on to their seats and knocking her opponent into the wall of the arena. It was silent in the arena as the audience witnessed the raw power of the genin; she really was her mother's daughter.

"Yeah baby! You can do it! Go kick his ass!" Her mother yelled in encouragement, one hand cupped around her mouth and the other waving in the air with enthusiasm but everyone in the arena knew better than to get in the way of the supportive mother. The child in question turned towards her mother and flashed a bright smile although blushing slightly in embarrassment.

She then turned her attention back towards her opponent as the dust settled, her Sharingan spinning in anticipation. Before her opponent could even finish the first of his seals, her hands were in a flurry as she prepared her own jutsu. Just as he finished the last of his seals, she unleashed a gigantic fireball in his direction. As his jutsu required him to stay motionless in place within a small time frame, he couldn't get himself out of the way in time, hence he received the brunt of the attack. As the smoke thinned out, they saw that although he was able to put up a barrier in time, he was still knocked unconscious.

The crowd cheered; the genin who had defeated him was really skilled; she had the intelligence of her mother and instinctual fighting skills of her father! By the side of the cheering mother stood the father, who had watched his daughter fight with a proud smirk on his face, his own Sharingan spinning as to forever engrain his daughter's victorious moment into his memories. His wife who was jumping up and down in excitement turned to him and envelope him in a hug, still bouncing away. To the surprise of the people around them, he had casually slipped his arm around his wife pulled her into him in agreement. He bent slightly to whisper in her ear,

"She really is our daughter, that Sarada."

"The winner of this match goes to Uchiha Sarada! Congratulations, Sarada-chan, you have officially graduated from genin into chunnin!" the Seventh Hokage announced cheerfully, thereby ending the match.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, at the age of 12, Sarada had passed the Chunnin Exams, eliminating her opponents with ease and skill that surely surpassed any ordinary kid her age. But really, what can we expect from the daughter of the legendary Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke?

 _'_ _Up next, Day 12'_


	12. Another's Opinion

A/N: Okay, I'm late, I know, but at least that's better than nothing. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Kishi-sensei owns Naruto and its characters as much as he ships SasuSaku.

 **Summary: A third person's view on SasuSaku's relationship.**

* * *

 _ **Day 12: White Flag**_

* * *

Uzumaki Karin had always admired Uchiha Sasuke from the time that he had saved her in the Forest of Death. She admired the way he carried himself, his powerful aura, his indifferent personality. She thought that he was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome; what with his noble bloodline as well. She had always fantasized being with him; to be more than just a teammate to him. Then, with the arrival of Haruno Sakura, everything changed.

Karin saw the way Sasuke treated Sakura during the little time she had stayed in Konoha after the war. She saw the way his gaze softens whenever he looked at her. She noticed that he always stood outside the hospital, waiting for Sakura's shift to end before walking her home. She picked up the way he listens attentively while Sakura chatters on. Karin had also the chance to see a rare smile he gave Sakura when he found her endearing. And although the relationship between them was never really publicly affectionate, everyone knew better than to disturb them when they were together. The Sasuke she was seeing nowadays was more caring, more relaxed, more of a human being rather than the demi-god that he always projected as being. Karin understands that only Sasuke is what he is now because of his previous team, Naruto, Kakashi and especially, Sakura.

Karin knew when she has to raise the white flag. She knew that nothing could ever compare to the relationship that Sasuke had with Sakura. She knew that the both of them had overcame more in their relationship than anyone else; that nothing could come into their way again. Karin was no sore loser, so, with a smile on her face, she silently wished them the best of luck from afar, packed her bags and left Konoha, taking the next step in the journey that is life. Sometimes though, she wonders wistfully before going to sleep, if she or anyone else for that matter would ever have a love that is as deep and strong as Sasuke and Sakura's.

 _~Up next. Day 13~_


	13. Let Me Care For You

A/N: I have a perfectly valid reason as to why I'm late today. I… was watching gameplays of Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, 4 and Revolution. I got carried away…hahaha…eh. So many things that I could write with this prompt. Too many that I have none to write. Does that make sense? No? Oh well. Oh, but I guess that b the time I'm done with the story it'll be 2 a.m. too. Anyways, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters. They all belong to Kishimoto-sensei.

 **Summary: Sasuke fetches Sakura home from the hospital.**

* * *

 _ **Day 13: 2A.M.**_

* * *

It was two in the morning when Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. The left side of the bed where Sakura normally slept in was cold and empty. He sat up in annoyance, Sakura was supposed to be back four hours ago from the hospital. He huffed and stepped out of bed,

 _'That silly girl is going to wear herself out sooner or later.'_ He thought silently to himself, as he put on a t-shirt over the shinobi pants he was wearing. Sasuke then proceeded to leave the house and head towards where he knew she'd be at the hospital. The walk itself was short, about ten minutes. Reaching the hospital, he headed straight to where her office was located. He knocked, and without receiving a reply, he opened the door.

Paper was sprawled all over the table, unusual for the usually tidy Sakura. On top of it all was Sakura, deep asleep. Sasuke sighed; really, this woman was going to be the death of him. He nudged her gently,

"Sakura, wake up. You need to sleep on a proper bed." Sasuke spoke softly, not wanting to alarm her (she had a tendency to punch whoever that woke her up rudely). Sakura only managed to answer him with a muffled, "Five more days". Sasuke chuckled lightly at her antics. Slowly, he reached over and brushed the hair out of her face,

"Sakura, you really need to wake up. You need to walk or I will resort to carrying you. Just so you remember, I have one arm so I can't carry you princess style but I can carry you like a sack of potatoes." Sasuke threaten lightly. Sakura groaned and started to push herself up,

"Why did you and Naruto have to go and blow your arms off? Pretty stupid move if you ask me." Sakura grumbled under her breath, eyes still bleary with sleep. Sasuke pointedly ignored her comment, instead helping to get her into her coat and providing whatever support he can for the stumbling kunoichi. As they got out of the hospital with Sakura leaning on Sasuke for support, she asked him,

"Can't you piggy back me? I'm so tired" Sakura complained, just about ready to fall back asleep. Sasuke shifted his hold on her,

"And whose fault is it that stayed back so late at the hospital doing god knows what?" Sasuke replied with a question. Without missing a beat,

"Well, that would be you and Naruto. I was staying back at the hospital to research how to give you guys your arms back." Sakura answered, yawning widely. It was silent for a while before Sasuke replied,

"You don't have to push yourself, you know. Just take your time. Naruto and I won't be going anywhere soon." He responded, his tone slightly apologetic. Sakura shook her head,

"That doesn't mean you won't be going anywhere in the future. You were planning a journey to redeem yourself, did you not?" Sakura questioned. Sasuke nodded,

"I need to do this. I need to see the world without being influenced by darkness or revenge. I need to redeem myself from all the damage that I have done." Sasuke quietly replied. It was Sakura's turn to nod her head in acknowledgement.

"That doesn't mean that you have to push yourself to the limit with the research, you know. You should take better care of yourself." Sasuke continued as he guided them towards the front door of the home they shared. Sakura stopped just as they reached the porch, having reached an astounding conclusion, causing Sasuke to look at her in confusion. She smiled softly, stood on her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek,

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun, for caring and being worried about me."

 _~Up next, Day 14~_


	14. Would You Be My Blood Bag?

A/N: I had fun with this one. I don't know if I should write a story with this plot and setting? Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei!

 **Summary: AU. Vamp!Sakura meets Sasuke.**

* * *

 _ **Day 14: Hunger**_

* * *

She jumped from rooftop to rooftop, searching for her next meal. She hungered for it, needed blood or she'll fade to literal dust by the time dawn came around. Under the cloak of darkness that the night provided, even her usually brightly coloured hair was hidden from a mortal. However, to the others of her kind, she stood out like a sore thumb. She was currently being hunted down by the council after taking out one of its elders, Sasori. She was critically injured during one of the scuffle they had dragged her into and she needed fresh blood to heal. Suddenly, she stopped, all her keen senses pinpointed onto a delicious scent, just 3 blocks down south from where she was. This scent was practically singing to her, calling for her to have it, and have it she will.

'That scent…' She inhaled deeply, 'that is some good quality blood; male; in his early adulthood, 19 if mortal; and in really good shape.' She quickly analysed the scent. Grinning eagerly with an appetite for the fresh blood, she began to track him down; blending easily into the shadows. All of a sudden, her ears picked up on a sound, just outside the city.

'Shit, they found me already?' She cursed silently. Her eyes darted towards the direction of the fresh blood. 'I need to refill or I am going to be deader than dead this time.' She thought anxiously. Mind made up, she quickly hunted down the fresh blood. She saw him walking along an empty street,

'This is too simple, there is no witness around.' She grinned toothily. Slowly, she slid out of the shadows and made her way to him. As she neared him, her vampiric eyesight allowed her to take in his form. She noticed that he was rather tall, at least a foot taller than her. He also had jet black hair that was spiky at the back. And when he turned as she called out softly to him, she saw that his eyes were the deepest shade of grey that she's ever seen. 'What a looker.' She mentally cheered for herself.

Her green eyes glowed eerily in the dark as she hypnotised him, and he fell unconscious. She caught him before he fell so that the delicious blood within him was not spoiled with an injury or bruise. She knelt down and gently cradled his head nearer to her mouth. She inhaled deeply, savouring the scent of his blood; but she had to be quick as she heard the vampires neared where she was. Opening her mouth, her fangs elongated,

'Sorry, I won't kill you with the amount of blood that I'm taking, but you'll be lethargic for a few days.' She apologized. 'Itadakimasu' she thanked before her fangs punctured his skin and she began to drink the blood that spilled out. As she drank the last of the blood that she needed, shadows formed a circle around her. She cracked open her green eyes, and sighed before licking the wound she had inflicted to seal it up. Gently, she placed his head onto the ground and stood up. She tossed her long pink hair back and wiped the blood that was at the side off her mouth with the pad of her tongue,

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Are you fools here for an early death?" She mocked them. Licking the blood off her thumb, she felt her wounds healing rapidly.

"You know what we are here for, you wretch! You killed elder Sasori! You need to be disposed of before you threaten the security of the other elders." One of the vampires accused. However, the pink haired vampire had ignored him, seemingly more focused on the healing properties of the blood that she had just drunk. Her eyes widened in surprise, it was tough finding blood that was compatible with hers, but the one she just had felt like it was made for her. She felt her being strengthen, her senses sharpened, she felt like a new born vampire again, full with life and energy!

As the vampires around her charged at her, she grinned. This blood was a miracle! She leapt and found herself ten times faster than she usually was. She giggled and attacked the vampires, feeling like she was on cloud nine. With a swipe, she beheaded the vampires with ease and they burst into flames. She grinned maniacally, looking at the evaporating blood on her hands, admiring her strength. Too absorbed with power, she didn't notice a vampire appear from the shadows, aiming for her head, when suddenly, a gunshot was heard. It rang throughout the empty streets and shocked her to her core.

Swinging her head to where the sound came from, she saw the vampire writhing and then bursting into flame. As his body burned and fell to the ground, she saw who it was that fired the gun. Holding the gun professionally from the floor was the guy whose blood she had just fed on! Slowly, he started to stand up, gun still pointing in her direction. She eyes him warily, her muscles tensed should she need to attack him. He motioned for her to lower her guard as he slowly placed his gun down onto the ground, raising both his hands in the air as the universal sign of 'Look, I'm unarmed'. She stared at him, still on guard, because really, he has a gun that can kill vampires and she was a vampire and who knows if he has more guns behind his back? He sighed and ran a hair through his hair before looking back at her, straight into her green eyes, a sign of trust,

"Seriously, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have waited for you to turn around. Just trust me, I don't want you dead." He explained. Slowly, she started to lower her guard.

"Who are you? And how did you get up so quickly?" She questioned. He raised an eyebrow in amusement but answered one of her questions anyway.

"Uchiha Sasuke. I work for a group that protects humans from the Otherworld, guys like you vampires, you know, that sort." He gestured to the burnt bodies on the floor, ignoring the annoyed look on her face when she noticed that he didn't answer all her questions. He continued,

"We would like you to join our group, to fight against the elders. We have information that the elders plan to take control of humans and all the other species of the Otherworld." He said. She looked at him sceptically,

"And why would you trust me?" She questioned him. He smirked,

"We have received information from our Otherworld kind spies that a pink haired vampire had just killed the elder Sasori in retaliation for taking out her clan. So, we decided to form a plan to get in contact with you. We had information that you were wounded badly and needed blood." He explained carefully, watching her like a hawk. She snorted,

"Why would I help you?" She quizzed him. He smirked wider,

"I just saved your life, did I not? Plus, if you work with us, you can get your revenge on all those that have wronged you and your kind. Don't worry, other than humans, you'll also be working alongside those of your kind." He added, holding his hand out as a sign of agreement. She deliberated for a while before she took a step and another and another until she was right in front of him. She looked at him before she reluctantly shook his hand,

"My name is Haruno Sakura." She offered. He grinned, and she was stunned with how young he actually looked,

"Welcome to the group, Sakura. I'm sure that you would be of great help to us."

 **Extra:**

"Sasuke-kun, would you like to be my blood donor?"

"… What?"

"Your blood is really, really tasty. I haven't had such blood in a long time and I- Sasuke-kun, where are you going?"

"Far, far away from you."

"No, don't go! It's a compliment, really!"

"You vamps have no social skills."

"I swear by the end of the year you'll be begging for me to have your blood!"

"Tch, as if."

"Just you wait!"

 _~Up next, Day 15~_


	15. Fear the Uchiha

A/N: You know what? There are literally billions of definitions for 'Eye of the Storm'. And I don't know which is right because the definitions are all opposites of each other. People, make up your mind! Which is it?! LOOK, they're all from different sites, I'm crying…

Eye of the storm: The center of chaos; **region of mostly calm weather found at the centre of a strong storm (chaos)** ; a period of time during a storm when things are calm. However, this doesn't mean it's over. Things just get worse.

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Sakura needs a place to rest. Sasuke makes sure she does.**

* * *

 _ **Day 15: Eye of the Storm**_

* * *

Medic Nins played a vital role of tending to the injured after the Fourth Shinobi War ended. Every shinobi that knew even the slightest bit of medical ninjutsu was to provide aid to the other shinobis, but even then, the number of injured shinobis greatly outnumbers the number of Medic Nins. Due to her abilities as a Medic Nin, Haruno Sakura was swamped with work. She had exhausted her chakra supply by summoning Katsuyu and conducting a mass healing for everyone within a large radius; she also personally tended to the critically injured. As she finished healing a critically injured Shinobi, Sakura suddenly felt lightheaded. She stumbled backwards into Tsunade who immediately supported her apprentice. Tsunade clicked her tongue,

"Sakura, you need rest. You've been working for far too long without rest. When was the last time you ate something?" Tsunade reprimanded her. Sakura stood properly and shook her head, trying to shake off the dizziness she felt,

"I had something a few hours ago. Don't worry Shishou, I can still-" Sakura was interrupted by her mentor and Hokage,

"I meant food Sakura, not those Soldier Pills. You yourself should know the health consequences of taking too much of those! As a Medic Nin, it is your responsibility to take care of your own health before you take care of your patients. If something were to happen to a Medic Nin, who is going to heal the injured?" Tsunade lectured her. Sakura looked downcast, and Tsunade who knew what she was thinking about soften her gaze,

"Look Sakura, you and I know that you are one of the very best Medic Nins, but even the strongest has got to take a break sometimes. Remember, everyone has their limits." Tsunade spoke in a motherly tone. Sakura sighed,

"You're right, Shishou. I should go take a break." She replied, heading towards the nearest empty cot in the tent. She suddenly felt Tsunade's hand on her shoulder,

"No, Sakura, this is a tent that provides treatment, more patients will come in and ask for your assistance. Go to a tent where patients are resting, those would be much quieter." Tsunade advised. Sakura nodded her head,

"Thank you, Shishou."

"Go, I don't want to see you working for another few hours! Oh, and get something proper to eat!" Tsunade shooed her away, immediately getting another Medic Nin to take over Sakura's shift before she herself headed to a Kage meeting.

Sakura stretched her back, popping her stiff joints. She relaxed and yawned while taking in the scene surrounding her outside the tent. It could be described in one word, chaos. Shinobi were rushing all over the place; transporting the injured for treatment and getting supplies from nearby villages or countries. Sakura looked around, mind determining where she could go for a rest. Her eyes stopped on a certain tent that she knew very well and a soft smile flittered across her face before she started walking in its direction. She pushed the flaps open softly, not wanting to wake the inhabitants. As she made her way in, she was surprised to see that Sasuke had pushed himself up was staring at her from his cot while next to him, Naruto was sprawled all over in his, deep asleep; both of them sported many wounds and were missing an arm. Sakura smiled,

"Sorry Sasuke-kun, did I disturb you?" She apologised softly, not wanting to wake Naruto up. Seeing that it was only Sakura who came in, Sasuke relaxed and laid back down,

"No, it's fine. I wasn't sleeping anyways." He assured her. Sakura only nodded and made her way to the chair that was placed in between the two cots. She pulled it out and faced it towards Sasuke,

"Sorry, I need somewhere to crash right now and this was the most peaceful place I could think of, since Naruto is sleeping and nobody would dare to disturb the two of you anyways." She indicated her head in Naruto's direction and then looked back at Sasuke,

"They fear you too much, what with your dark aura and prowess that they witnessed during the war." She teased him lightly, although they both knew that it was the truth. Sasuke snorted, slightly unlike himself,

"Do what you want. You need the rest anyways, you've overworked yourself." He supplied. Shocked that he had care enough to notice, she was left speechless. She then shook her head gently and proclaimed, "I'm going to sleep" before she rested her head and arms on his bed,

 _'_ _This is nice'_ she thought to herself, _'it's so calming in here even though it's practically chaos outside._ ' She snuggled deeper into the cot, oblivious as to how Sasuke's mismatched eyes stared at her. In a matter of seconds, she was fast asleep.

Slowly, as to not wake her up, Sasuke gently propped himself up against the headboard of the cot. He continued watching Sakura sleep, finding it absolutely calming seeing her breathing. He saw that her face was covered by her hair, and started to reach for it, slowly, to push it out of her face. Just millimetres from her, he heard the tent flap open allowing the noise from outside to increase in volume before it lowered again; Sasuke immediately retracted his hand. A Medic Nin came panting into the tent, his eyes searching wildly for something. His eyes finally settled on Sakura and Sasuke immediately knew what he was going to do,

"No." Sasuke denied him. Plain and simple, the Medic Nin should get the message, right?' Unfortunately, the Medic Nin was persistent,

"Uchiha-san, Haruno-san is needed to lead a surgery! The other Medic Nins are not as capable as her." The poor fool exclaimed loudly. Sakura stirred slightly at the noise and Sasuke immediately sent a glare towards the Medic Nin who was slowly approaching them, or more specifically, Sakura. The Medic Nin stopped in his tracks, suddenly feeling a killing aura coming from the last Uchiha. He gulped, and slowly turned to look shamefully at Sasuke,

"I'm sorry, Uchiha-san, but Haruno-san is really-" he started, noticeably decibels lower than his previously but was interrupted by Sasuke's glare. He took one step further, trying his luck and only to stop stone cold when he saw the usual dark coloured right eye of the Uchiha turned red with the Sharingan. Together with his Rinnegan in his left eye, Uchiha made a rather terrifying sight to behold. Knees shaking slightly and sweating profusely, the Medic Nin attempted to speak,

"I-I guess that I c-could get s-s-someone else to lead the s-surgery." He stuttered out, praying desperately that he could be spared from the Uchiha's wrath. Sasuke nodded his head slightly,

"Hn." He signalled for the Medic Nin to get out. The Medic Nin scrambled towards the exit without further prompting. Deactivating his Sharingan, Sasuke looked down at the sleeping Sakura, hand immediately brushing the pink locks from her face,

 _'_ _It's soft.'_

 _~Up next, Day 16~_


	16. Think Positive

A/N: It is sad of me to say that I was really stuck with this one! I had quite a lot of ideas for it but none of it seemed to work so I settled for this. This one has very, very little SasuSaku so you'd have to look under a microscope to see it. From my point of view, their relationship (romantic one) is just showing it's sprouts; that's why it is slightly more concealed in this chapter. I'm sorry, this one is a bit lame, even by my standards. Hope you enjoy it anyways?

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei!

 **Summary: Waiting for the battle to end, Sakura thinks.**

* * *

 _ **Day 16: "Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise"**_

* * *

The last thing that she remembered before Sasuke placed a genjutsu on her was that she had, for the second time in her life, professed her unwavering love for Sasuke, only for him to brush it off. The genjutsu that Sasuke placed her in very nearly traumatized her; the action of him stabbing her through the chest and he dying over and over again had taken its toll on her. Even though she had managed to break out of the genjutsu, it still took her some time to heal from the scar that he had placed on her mentally and emotionally. As she opened her eyes, she saw Kakashi sitting beside her.

"Where is Sasuke-kun and Naruto?"

"They're still battling it out."

"Oh. How long has it been?"

"They have been at it for almost a whole day now."

"K-Kakashi-sensei, what do you think will happen?"

"…I don't know, Sakura. All we can do is wait for now."

Sakura settled back onto the rock and hope, hope that the both Sasuke and Naruto are going to be alright. She reminisce the memories of when they were all still genin until the perfect team they made when they defeated Otsutsuki Kaguya. She knew that if Sasuke won the battle, the world was going to be a very different place. She didn't know what to think, she just wanted the both of them back and safe. As the time passed, her worries only grew. What if one or the both of them suffered from serious injuries? What if they were bleeding dry right now, while she was sitting here? She got onto her feet and started in their direction, only to be stopped by Kakashi. He shook his head,

"We'll give them till the morning to settle things out. As soon as it is bright enough, we'll go search for them." He assured her. Sakura sighed in defeat and sat back down. Although she was a master at waiting, it didn't mean that that made waiting any easier. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them,

"Kakashi-sensei, everything could go wrong." She mumbled. Beside her, Kakashi nodded,

"Don't worry, Sakura. Naruto's there to talk sense into him. They should be alright." Kakashi added, for the sake of his female student. However, both knew that his words carried no weight, that only fate could decide what was to happen. This battle would decide the fate of the shinobi world, and with each passing minute, the results were getting bleaker. Her thoughts then shifted to Sasuke. Would he still be the same power hungry avenger? Would he still carry the grudge of the Uchiha clan? Sakura hoped that Sasuke could see that he was never alone, that he always had team 7, that he always had her to back him up, to support him, to guide him back onto the right path. However, seeing the way he had acted before made her apprehensive. Sakura sighed dejectedly turning to look at the night sky. It was completely devoid of stars tonight, seemingly lifeless, much like how she was feeling at the moment.

Sakura shook her head, mentally scolding herself for thinking negatively. _'Don't give up hope yet! There is always a chance that he might have changed from the way he is currently!'_ She mentally motivated herself, knowing that it was no good to keep a negative way of thinking. _'Come on Sakura,_ _even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.'_ She thought, believing in Naruto, and especially in Sasuke. _'They'll be fine.'_ She thought before she felt her eyes close shut, her body demanding for her to sleep.

As soon as the sun rose, Sakura and Kakashi set out to find Naruto and Sasuke. They found them at the Valley of the End, both shinobis heavily injured and bleeding from a stump that used to be their arm. Concerned, Sakura immediately leapt down the cliff to their side. Concentrating her chakra, she immediately began to heal the both of them. Naruto thanked her while Sasuke started,

"Sakura…I…"

"Don't… I need to concentrate" She interrupted him, not willing to face him at the moment. Sasuke fell silent for a while before he started again,

"I'm sorry" He apologised to her. Sakura was not appeased,

"Sorry? For what?" She prompted, willing him to further elaborate.

"For everything I've done…" He explained, sounding sincere. Sakura couldn't help the tears that welled at the edge of her eyes,

"You'd better… Geez…" She scolded softly. She sniffed, unable to control the tears flowing freely down her face now,

"You are so much trouble…Idiot" She rubbed away her tears, finally done with stopping the bleeding, unaware of the ghost of a smile that Sasuke was giving her.

 _'_ _It's fine. It's going to be fine. It'll take a while, but it is going to be okay… I'll make sure of it.'_ She thinks to herself, glad that Sasuke and Naruto are both alive as Kakashi watched on.

It was going to be a slow process of rebuilding relationships within the team, but it's going to be worthwhile.

~Up next, Day 17~


	17. You Win

A/N: Short one this time. Kind of a continuation to Day 15: Eye of the Storm.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters and plot. It belongs solely to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Sasuke being grateful to Sakura and her unwavering love for him.**

* * *

 _ **Day 17: Raw**_

* * *

He learned that she and Obito had been opening Kaguya's many dimensions just to find him. He learned that one of the dimensions they had opened was a sea of acid; that in order to protect Obito, Sakura was splashed with acid that burned the skin of her arm. While supporting her with his right arm, he noticed that she had a raw wound. He soon learned that in order to conserve the amount of chakra she used, she had ignored her wounds just so that she could find him. When he saw her healing that burn wound of hers, Sasuke was grateful for what she did.

He was grateful that she had given her all, transferring raw power into Obito,

To open the portals just to find him

 _(Just to save him),_

Because she wanted to help as much as she could

 _(Because she loved him with all her heart)._

Looking down at her sleeping form by his cot, Sasuke felt his chest constrict with an unknown emotion (no, he knew it all this time, he just didn't acknowledge it);

 _The feeling of wanting to make sure that no harm comes her way ever again;_

 _The feeling of pride that she can handle herself even in the most difficult of situations;_

 _The feeling of guilt that he isn't the best man for her;_

 _The feeling of selfishness for not wanting to give her up to a better man;_

 _The feeling of awe at the kunoichi sleeping beside him for being the selfless, brave, strong and loving person that she is._

Uchiha Sasuke thinks that maybe it's time that he admitted defeat to the feelings of love that he had established for her since a long ago but decided to lock it all up for the sake of revenge. Uchiha Sasuke decides that he should be truthful to both himself and Sakura, for both of their sake.

~Up next, Day 18~


	18. I Will Follow You

A/N: Out of the woods: To be out of danger or difficulty. I guess I used it both figuratively and literally? Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Sakura goes searching for Sasuke.**

* * *

 _ **Day 18: Out of the Woods**_

* * *

She had spent at least two weeks looking for him now (with the Hokage's permission, of course) and she was currently sitting under a tree in the middle of a forest taking a break. She took a sip of water from her flask, looking at the map that was laid out in front of her,

 _'From what Naruto said, He has been leisurely heading east with no change in direction.'_ She thought, mentally calculating her journey, _'It has been two weeks since then, I should have reached Him by now. Could He have sped up or changed direction somewhere?'_ She considered contacting Naruto to use his senjutsu to track Him down when she sensed the presence of some unknown chakras approaching her. Quickly, she packed her things and prepared herself. Just as she stood up, a group twenty shinobis circled her,

"Which village do you affiliate yourself with?" Sakura called out while quietly collecting chakra into her hands under her travel cloak without their knowledge. The shinobi who appeared to be the leader walked forwards, his weapon raised,

"We do not have any affiliations with villages, we are Nukenin! Now, hand us all your belongings and we shall let you live!" He demanded of her. Sakura eyed them, mentally formulating a plan,

"I can guarantee that you really don't want to do that, if YOU valued your lives. Do you not know who I am?" She cautioned them as she flashed the Konoha headband on her head. The Nukenins snickered at her,

"Of course we know who you are. You're Haruno Sakura from Konohagakure, disciple of its fifth Hokage, Senju Tsunade. You're rather famous, you know." The leader sneered, causing Sakura raise a delicate eyebrow.

"Yet, it seems to me that you do not know who WE are. I'll have you know that we're S-Class Nukenin, and that we can easily defeat you. We don't believe that a pink-haired kunoichi like you are as great as they say!" He insulted her before charging at her, his cronies following suit.

Sakura immediately punched the ground, infusing it with a burst of her chakra and shattering it to put some distance between the Nukenins and her. Some of the unfortunate ones were caught in the attack and were buried alive while the lucky ones managed to evade it by jumping high into the air; but Sakura had already thought of that. As rocks propelled into the air, she used them as stepping stones, and with chakra infused feet, she jumped from one rock to another, taking out her opponents one by one. Sakura knew that she was a close ranged fighter; she had to get rid of them fast, before they decided to attack her all at once with ninjutsu.

As the dust settled, she saw that there were a handful left of them standing. As she stared at them warily in the eyes, she felt a genjutsu being placed on her. Inwardly, she scoffed at his attempt, knowing surely that she was resistant to genjutsu. She had trained so hard at dispelling genjutsus (so Sasuke couldn't pull that shit again with the genjutsu during the war) with Kurenai that her body is now resistant to it. With a flash, she was already in front of the Nukenin that casted the genjutsu, her chakra laden fist in his gut. He flew backwards into the tress, dead.

Manipulating the chakra in her hands, she turned it into chakra scalpels, capable of cutting through anything she wished. With a lunge, she sliced at the nearest Nukenin, immediately cutting through skin, flesh, bones, and blood vessels before finally reaching the cardiovascular muscles, the ones that pumped the heart. Her opponent's eyes went wide, he clutched at his heart letting out a strangling sound before he fell to the ground, heart stopped. As she turned to face the remaining three of her opponents, she found that they were already finishing the hand seals for what appears to be a sealing technique with fire and wind jutsu in it.

Her green eyes widened, _'Shit'_ she thought as she tried to avoid the oncoming jutsu. She scrambled into the denseness of the trees, hoping that that would provide her with some protection. She felt the heat of the flames as the jutsu started, sending a net of fire over the large area of the forest; her legs a blur as she tried to run out of the range of the jutsu. She felt the wind jutsu activated, assisting the fire jutsu, making it grow bigger and bigger. Up ahead, she saw the net start to fall, about to close in on her.

Suddenly, the branch beneath her gave way, sending her hurtling towards the forest ground. She closed her eyes and braced for the coming impact of the forest floor or the burning net, whichever came first. Suddenly, the air around her was cool and she felt herself being caught in mid-air by something firm. She opened her eyes immediately and found herself in a Susanoo, safe from the fires and the ground. She peeked up at the person who caught her and was surprise to find herself staring back into the mismatched eyes of Uchiha Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun…" She breathed out quietly, unable to believe that he had saved her. He stared at her for a while longer before looking away, his ears red,

"Sakura" He acknowledged her. Sakura giggled at the irony, because really, she was supposed to find him, not the other way around. He nodded his head towards the three Nukenins who had attacked her,

"You need help?" He asked her, while slowly putting her down. Sakura stood up and sighed,

"Not really," she started, and glanced at him, "But it would be nice if you could handle this." She smiled at him. Sasuke nodded at her, making Susanoo create the hand seals needed and blew out a gigantic fireball, completely disintegrating the enemies.

'I should learn more ninjutsu.' Sakura thought idly to herself as she watched Sasuke waiting for a moment longer before activating a water jutsu to put out the flames. Travelling in Susanoo, Sasuke only deactivated it when they reached dry grounds,

"What are you doing out here, Sakura?" He asked her noting her travel appearance. Sakura glanced down; her beige cloak was now smoky and had smudges of ashes on it. She looked at him straight in the eyes, arms folded beneath her cloak,

"I want to travel with you, Sasuke-kun." She explained.

"Sakura, you know that I need to do this alone." Sasuke tried to persuade her.

"I know that, but I would also like to carry half of your burden. So I'm coming with you. Don't worry; I won't cause you any trouble at all, Sasuke-kun!" She countered. Sasuke sighed,

"Sakura-" He started, only to be interrupted,

"Please Sasuke-kun; let me shoulder some of your burdens. You don't have to do it all alone. Please know that you'll always have me by your side…" Sakura pleaded. "…I love you, Sasuke-kun. And I don't want to be without you." She added shyly, looking downwards. Sasuke sighed again and combed his right hand through his hair,

"I'm not saying no, Sakura. I wanted to tell you that we need to head to the nearest village to restock on supplies." He poked her forehead, right where her Yin seal was. "Silly" he gently teased her. Sakura gaped at him before looking away, feeling her face burning hotly. Sasuke chuckled softly; gently holding on to her hands and making her walk while she looked down in embarrassment.

"Come on; let's get out of the woods."

~Up next, Day 19~


	19. Nightmares

A/N: I'm so sorry that this is so late! I just got back from a trip and was sleeping the tiredness off. Anyways, enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishimoto.

 **Summary: Even though it has been years, Sasuke is still haunted by memories and dreams of his past wrongdoings.**

* * *

 _ **Day 19: Blood**_

* * *

It was dark and there was so much blood everywhere that he was knee deep in it. Sasuke looked around, Sharingan activated, trying to find a way out of there. Finding no way out, he decided to just pick a direction and go along with it. As he walked, the stench of the blood worsened so much that he had to cover his nose. He started to make out blobs of shapes in the lake of blood he was in.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes to get a better look. As he approached it, his eyes widened in shock; there, staring back at him were the dull and lifeless faces of his dead clan members. Sasuke took a step back in shock and looked around, finding that he was surrounded by the dead Uchiha clan. Suddenly, everything else seemed bigger than he was and when he glanced back down, he was now waist deep in the blood; he was once again six years old and terrified by what he saw.

Tears started to well up in his eyes and he slowly started to back away before turning around and running in the opposite direction. He ran and ran, and the blood started to decrease until he was running on dry road again. He wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his sleeve only to trip and fall; he landed with a 'THUMP' on the road. He winced from the pain and glanced up, he was in the living room of his house again. He sat back up, _'No, no, not this!'_ He thought, scrambling backwards. In front of him were his parents, lying face down on the floor; behind them stood the silhouette of his brother, his eyes glowing red with the Sharingan.

Suddenly, Itachi's eyes flashed again and Sasuke was transported to the Uchiha Hideout where he and Itachi had fought. He looked down and saw that once again he was in his teenage form before looking back up and gasped at what he saw next. Staggering towards him was an injured Itachi who was coughing up blood. As Itachi finally reached Sasuke, he lifted up his hand to poke Sasuke on the forehead,

"I will always love you…" Itachi rasped out before collapsing.

"Nii-san!" Sasuke reached out to grab his brother but failed to do so as the scene changed again.

This time, he was transported to the Land of Iron, with his hands around a slender neck. His eyes widened as terrified green orbs stared back at him, tears streaming down her face.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura gasped out, hands clawing at his. Sasuke couldn't control himself as a sadistic grin crossed his face. He watched in horror as his grip around her neck tightened.

 _'_ _No, not Sakura!'_ He pleaded desperately in his head, trying to loosen his grip. It was useless as her eyes started to roll back into her head. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut, unable to witness what was about to happen next. Suddenly, he felt the wind blowing on his face and opened his eyes, only to find that it was just after Team 7 and Kakashi had defeated Kaguya, only for him to proclaim his wish to be Hokage. Sakura had once again proclaimed her love for him and Sasuke immediately knew what he was going to do next; he was going to place her under a genjutsu. The genjutsu started and Sasuke was pulled into it; he had just struck Sakura in the chest. Her eyes widened in surprise and Sasuke felt her heart beat faster before slowing down and eventually stopping. Sakura breathed her last before slumping forward. Sasuke caught her in his shaking arms, clutching her to him tightly,

"No, no, no, Sakura. Come on, open your eyes." He whispered fervently. He felt Sakura's blood flowing from the gaping hole in her chest; it was warm and sticky. Sasuke shuddered, tears flowing from his eyes, before he let out an inhuman wail.

"I'm sorry, Sakura! I would never hurt you! Please, don't leave me!" He sobbed into the crook of her neck.

"Sasuke-kun…" A voice whispered softly.

"…Sakura?" He lifted his head from her rapidly cooling body.

"Sasuke-kun, wake up…" Sakura's voice urged him. Sasuke looked back at her body in his arms,

"Sasuke-kun, it's just a dream, you're okay…" Her voice continued.

 _'_ _Just…a dream?'_ Sasuke thought to himself before he was pulled from the land of slumber.

Sasuke snapped his eyes open to meet worried jade orbs of his wife. She was bent over him, hands on his shoulders. Seeing that her husband was now awake, Sakura breathed a small sigh of relief. She spotted the tear streaks her husband had left on his face from when he was thrashing around in the bed and decided to gently pull her husband up into a sitting position. Holding him tightly against her, she smoothed his messy hair down with one hand as her other one rubbed circles on his back,

"It's alright, Sasuke-kun. It was just a dream." She soothed him as he sobbed silently, hands tightly clutching her nightgown. He lifted his head to look at her,

"You know that I would never hurt you on purpose, right? You know that I was not in my right mind in the Land of Iron, right? And that I placed you in a genjutsu so that you would give up on me?" He whispered, voice hoarse from the screaming, eyes desperately hers for forgiveness. Sakura looked at him with gentleness in her eyes,

"I know that, darling. I know that just as much as you know that I love you no matter what happens. I know that you're a changed man, that you're no longer hell bent on revenge and destruction anymore. You have redeemed yourself, you don't have to worry about the past anymore. You only need to focus on the present and the future." Sakura gently comforted him, stroking the left side of his face. Sasuke looked down at his hand; he could still see them stained with her blood,

"Sometimes, I feel that I'm not good enough for you; that you could have found a better guy than me to marry and be your husband." He whispered softly, unable to meet her eyes. Sakura cupped his face, making him look her in the eyes,

"Don't ever say that, Sasuke-kun. You know that I have no one else but you in my heart." She paused, searching his face for any sign of agreement. When she found none, she sighed,

"Sasuke-kun, you have always trusted my decisions when we are on missions. Well, love is like a type of mission too, won't you put your faith in the both of us? We have gone through so much more than the rest but we still ended up together. Put your faith and trust in us that we're going to turn out just fine." She soothed him before placing a kiss on his forehead.

Sasuke nodded before pulling her into a hug (he needed reassurance that she was here with him, that she was truly his wife, that she was alive and breathing; he also needed the contact),

"Thank you, Sakura." He whispered.

 _~Up next, Day 20~_


	20. Breakfast

A/N: Erm… _*nudgenudgewinkwink*_ SPOT IT.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Naruto and its characters, Kishi-sensei does.

 **Summary: Sarada wants to prepare a surprise for her mama, so she calls papa for help.**

* * *

 ** _Day 20: Anniversary_**

* * *

Small and light feet were stealthily creeping towards her parents' bedroom. Uchiha Sarada was on an important mission and she had enlisted the help of her papa, Uchiha Sasuke. However, her mission partner was nowhere in sight as he was still asleep in the bedroom with mama. Usually, mama and papa were wide awake in the morning; bustling in the kitchen preparing breakfast or sitting at the dining table having coffee; but today, the house was rather quiet. In the back of her head, Sarada quietly wondered what her parents were doing last night that wore them out so much… Brushing that thought aside, Sarada silently opened the door to her parent's bedroom and crept nearer to her mama and papa, not wanting to wake her mama up.

She silently thanked that her papa slept on the side of the bed nearest to the door and she sneaked nearer. Finally, she reached her papa's side of the bed, only to be faced with his back. Her papa was sleeping on his side, his right arm over the comforter hugging her mama close to him while mama was snuggled quite comfortably into his chest. They were both sleeping so peacefully that Sarada almost felt a tinge of sadness that she had to wake her papa up, _almost_.

Gingerly, she reached her left hand out slowly to lightly tap her papa on his back. Her papa tensed up slightly before he relaxed and turned slowly towards his daughter. He blinked owlishly at her, not seeming to remember the reason for her waking him up. Sarada sighed, rubbing her eyes before crossing her arms in front of her and settled for a small staring contest for her father. Finally, after a long minute, Sasuke received the message that his daughter was trying to telepathically send to him. Wordlessly, he nodded his head towards the bedroom door, implying for her to go wait for him outside as he got ready. Sarada smiled brightly at him and practically skipped out (as silently as she could) the room, closing the door behind her. Sasuke turned his head towards his sleeping wife to place a kiss on her forehead before attempting to disentangle himself from her legs from beneath the sheets. He managed to get into a sitting position with his legs dangling over the side of the bed when his wife gently ghost over the stump of his left arm,

"Where are you going so early in the morning, Sasuke-kun?" She questioned him sleepily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Sasuke turned his body towards her, and stroke her cheek,

"Go back to sleep, Sakura. I'm only heading downstairs." He whispered gently. Sakura nodded sleepily before dozing off again. Sasuke stood up and proceeded to dress himself before heading out of the room where Sarada was waiting for him.

Sarada beamed up at him as he ruffled her hair on his way out. They headed towards the kitchen,

"What do you feel like cooking for your mama?" Sasuke asked his daughter as he prepared the coffee. Sarada produced a piece of paper and wordlessly handed it to him. Sasuke took a look at it before raising an eyebrow at his own flesh and blood, who was just grinning at him, tying on her apron. Sasuke smiled slightly as he shook his head and reached for his own apron,

"Let's get started then."

* * *

"We need to prepare six dishes in total." Sarada declared. Counting off her fingers,

"We have rice, fish, tofu, miso soup, natto and fruits." She looked up at her father,

"I'll prepare the rice, natto and fruits. Can papa prepare the rest?" She asked him. Sasuke nodded and started with his duties. Sarada beamed happily and got started with the rice.

While waiting for the miso soup and the tofu to be done, Sasuke helped Sarada with preparing the fruits,

"You should cut the watermelon this way so that it has a stem for you to hold." Sasuke demonstrated as Sarada watched on. Sarada picked up the watermelon piece that her father had cut, shaped like a Christmas tree with its skin as a place to hold.

"Ooh, that's really cool. Can I try?" Sarada asked her papa with shinning eyes. Sasuke nodded and handed her the knife.

"Be careful when handling the knife, Sarada."

"I know, papa."

"…"

"…"

"Watch your fingers, Sarada." Sasuke attempted to take the knife from her when she sliced a little too near her fingers for his liking.

"Papa, I handle kunai and shurikens on a daily basis. I'm pretty sure that I could handle a kitchen knife just fine." Sarada protested, cutting up the rest of the watermelon as Sasuke watched on with his Sharingan activated, so that he could intercept before she hurt herself.

Fortunately, nothing disastrous happened and Sarada managed to cut all the pieces evenly and spread them creatively on the serving dish. They then placed the rest of the food on their respective plates and onto the serving tray. All that was left was the natto which Sarada stirred in a bowl as Sasuke watched on with a look of disgust plastered on his face. How his wife and child ate those fermented beans he had no idea. With the last bowl on the plate, Sarada and Sasuke proceeded to go wake Sakura up, with Sarada balancing the tray in her hands steadily. She looked down at the handiwork that she and her papa had pulled off,

"Papa, you think mama is going to like it?" She asked in a soft voice. Sasuke glanced down at his child,

"Of course she will. She's your mama; she'll love anything you make her." Sasuke replied without missing a beat. Sarada smiled brightly, having heard the truth in his voice. Sasuke opened the door to the bedroom and they both entered.

Sakura had just tugged down a shirt over herself when her husband and child came into view; she had heard them approaching long before they started talking. She beamed happily at her daughter while trying to control the blush that threatens to engulf her entire face at her husband's knowing smirk. _'Smug bastard'_ she thought.

"Mama, you're up!" Sarada exclaimed in surprise, she really wanted to wake her mother up.

"Yeah, I just did." Sakura explained. Noticing the tray of food in her daughter's hands, Sakura inquired,

"Oh, Sara-chan, what is all that food for?" Sakura asked, glancing at her husband for an answer, who, as helpful as ever, only shrugged his shoulders. Sakura's green eyes quickly fell back onto her daughter. Shyly, Sarada held out the tray of food towards her mama,

"It's something that I planned with papa," She started, walking towards her mama who was still in bed. Gently placing the tray on the bed, she turned towards her mother, her face filled with happiness,

"Happy wedding anniversary, mama and papa!" She wished them with all her heart. Sakura, who had placed a hand over her mouth reached out for her daughter who immediately entered the hug. Sakura peppered kisses all over her daughter's face,

"Oh, thank you so much, Sara-chan! This is so thoughtful of you…" Here, Sakura glanced at Sasuke, who stood behind Sarada, "…and papa." She added. She hugged Sarada tighter,

"You two are the best things that ever happened in my life." Sakura choked out, fighting back tears. Sarada, who had teared up, wiped away her tears with the back of her hand,

"I wanted to do something extra special for you this year because this is the first time we're spending this amazing day as a whole family!" Sarada explained. Sakura smiled gently at her,

"Thank you so much, my darling daughter and husband." She whispered. Sasuke took a few steps forward towards his wife and child. He bent down at the waist to place a quick kiss on Sakura's lips, much to the surprise of a blushing Sarada,

"Happy anniversary, Sakura."

"Happy anniversary to you too, Sasuke-kun."

 _~Up next, Day 21~_


	21. Honey, Do I Look Old?

A/N: As a person who dreads getting older every day, this prompt was somewhat scary for me. Hahaha… Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Sasuke worries he might be getting old too fast.**

* * *

 _ **Day 21: Midlife Crisis**_

* * *

Sasuke woke up to the sound of his wife flitting around the bedroom, getting ready to prepare breakfast for the family before heading to work. Sasuke stayed in bed a little longer before he got up too with a weary sigh. Silently, he thought to himself as he stretched the kinks out his back that he was never this slow getting out of bed when he was younger. Was this the result of him hitting the big 40 just a few months ago? As he brushed his teeth in, he stared back at his own reflection, noting the shallow wrinkles. He frowned slightly, really, was time truly that merciless? Rinsing his mouth, he spat the water out and proceeded head towards the kitchen.

Sakura was bustling around the kitchen, humming to herself as she cooked. Even though she was the same age as him (she's older by a few months), she doesn't look a day over 35 (Sasuke suspects that she might have asked her Shishou to the secret of the Transformation Technique but he couldn't be sure and he was afraid to ask her). He walked up to her back, and with a rare display of affection, he wrapped his right arm around Sakura's waist and rested is chin on her left shoulder. Sakura turned slightly to face him, placing a kiss on his lips before returning her attention back to the egg she was frying,

"Good morning, darling. Did you sleep well last night?" Sakura questioned good naturedly. Sasuke nodded his head and pressed his face into her pink hair, inhaling the scent of cherry blossoms that were unique to Sakura. Sakura giggled,

"What's wrong with you today, darling? You are never this affectionate" she started, before adding, "Not that I complain, dear." Sasuke shrugged, not knowing the reason as well though he did pull away from her just as a grown up Sarada entered the kitchen with a 'good morning' and proceeded to set the dining table. Sasuke placed the finish dishes on the table and took his seat at the table with Sarada sitting beside him. Sakura came over with the rice and took her seat opposite them. A chorus of 'Itadakimasu' filled the room before they started digging in. Sarada looked up from her meal towards her dad,

"Papa, you did promise to help me with Susanoo today, right? I need to refine it before I enter the ANBU examinations." She looked at him excitedly. Sasuke agreed,

"We'll leave for the training grounds in an hour or so." He offered. At age 20, Sarada still maintained her cheeriness and beamed at him.

Inwardly, Sasuke sighed as he took in the sight of his daughter. Sarada was now a Jounin for Konoha with dreams to become Hokage; she had a slim figure with waist long hair; she had also lost almost all of her baby fat in her face, making it much sharper. Sarada was a shinobi to be reckoned with, armed with her mother's perfect chakra control, her father's Sharingan, her father's speed, her mother's agility and the combined intellect of a Haruno and an Uchiha; it was no wonder that she was ranked amongst the best of the best of the shinobis that served Konoha. Sasuke wondered how his daughter had grown up so fast.

* * *

It was just before dinner when Sasuke came back home, without Sarada in sight. He headed straight towards the kitchen where he knew his wife was busy preparing dinner.

"Darling?" Sakura called out in surprise. Sasuke 'hn'ed and proceeded to wash his hands before he helped with setting the table.

"Darling, did Sara-chan not come home with you?" Sakura continued. Sasuke shook his head,

"She is out having dinner with some friends." Sasuke told his wife, placing the last of the dishes on the table while Sakura cleaned the kitchen area. Sakura clicked her tongue softly,

"Really, that girl could have sent me a notice that she wouldn't be back for dinner. I needn't cook her portion then." Sakura muttered before taking a seat facing her husband. With soft 'thanks', the started eating. Sakura glanced at her husband, as she always do whenever he comes back from a mission or training, her critical medic eye analysing every single detail about him; the way he sat, the way he angled his body, the way he moved, the scratches and cuts that he might have accumulated, down to the way he breathed. Today, she noticed that he was moving slightly slower, that he had a very minute shake in his movements. Feeling the weight of his wife's stare, Sasuke gave up the act. Placing his chopsticks down, he started,

"I… might have overexerted myself today." He explained. Sakura only stared at him, urging him silently to elaborate further. Sasuke looked away, unable to meet her green eyes (only towards his wife, he thinks),

"Sarada was really excited for the ANBU examinations and she wanted to perfect the technique as soon as possible. I… I couldn't let her down, could I?" He asked. Sakura closed her eyes with a small smile, content with her husband's excuse (he was such a tsundere),

"I'll heal you after dinner." She told him.

"Thank you." He replied, grateful that Sakura was calmer than she was in her youth (he had seen the way she pulverized the current Hokage when they were just kids).

* * *

Sasuke had just exited the shower and he now stood in front of the full-length mirror in his and Sakura's bedroom, feeling better after Sakura had loosen the tiredness of his muscle with her chakra. Sasuke stared at himself, noting the way that his once toned muscles were not as toned anymore. Now, Sasuke was by no means vain, but he had to keep fit in order to perfectly carry out the duties and mission his Hokage sent him on. To him, having a weaker body was just increasing the chance of failure. Suddenly, hands snaked around his waist from behind him. Sakura, who had just came out of the shower was clad in a towel,

"What's on your mind, Sasuke-kun?" She muttered as she peppered his back with kisses as Sasuke held on to her small hands in his larger one. When he stayed silent, Sakura peeked around him to catch his gaze in the mirror. He looked at her for a while more before giving in (he could never win a staring contest with her),

"I am growing old." He stated bluntly. Sakura was shocked for a while before she smiled softly,

"We're all getting old, Sasuke-kun. No one can escape time. Not even Orochimaru, that's why he has to change bodies every few decades." Sakura comforted him.

"If you ask me, that snake has overstayed his welcome in this world." Sasuke supplied, to which Sakura giggled. Sasuke sighed and turned his wife around, so that she was facing him. Holding her hand, he stroke the back of it with the pad of his thumb,

"Growing older means that missions wouldn't be completed efficiently; growing older means that I can only train with Sarada for half a day and not a full day like I could have easily done when I was younger." He voiced his concerns. Sakura cupped the side of his face, gently stroking him,

"Sasuke-kun, we will all have out prime condition. But once that passes, we can only leave the future in the hands of the next generation. That is why, we have to do our best to guide them and protect them until it is their turn to take the lead. After that, we have to step down and allow the younger ones to take reign and only guide and support them from behind." Sakura tells him.

"And don't worry, Sara-chan has almost perfected her Susanoo, she just wants to spend more time with you. If she needed any more practice, she could always practice with her friends and teammates, just like us when we were young." Sakura mentioned. She sighed as she saw Sasuke staring at his muscles in his reflection,

"You're not flabby, Sasuke-kun." Green eyes stared back at him.

"…Huh?" He was caught off guard.

"You're worried at how you look as well, aren't you?" She teased him.

"…" He looked away.

"…" Her grin widened.

"…No." He sulked.

"You are!" Her eyes shone brightly.

"Tch." He pursed his lips.

"Darling, you look great! Trust me; I've seen many bodies younger than you that don't compare to yours." She comforted him.

"What?!" His eyes widened.

"Yeah, they're so-mmph!" He silenced her with a kiss. They broke apart soon after with her grinning like an idiot.

"Someone's jealous." She teased.

"I'm not." He glared. She only laughed it off, unaffected by it. She pulled his head so close to hers that their foreheads touched and she placed a kiss on his nose,

"I love you, darling."

 _~Up next, Day 22~_


	22. With Mama And Papa Beside You

A/N: I based this upon my youngest cousin who had just started to walk. Also, that part of Gaiden where Sarada remembers her mama and papa helping her to walk. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to the almighty Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Sarada's first pair of shoes.**

* * *

 _ **Day 22: Baby Shoes**_

* * *

 _'_ _Ah, this will be so cute on Sara-chan!'_ Sakura squealed in her head, and clutched the shopping bag closer to her with her left hand, her right one carrying the groceries. She unlocked the door to her house, and took off her heels.

"Darlings, mama is back from shopping!" She called out, heading towards the kitchen to put the groceries away. She heard the squeaking sound on the floor that a crawling child makes and smiled to herself, waiting for her daughter to appear. Soon enough, Sarada came rounding the corner as fast as she could with the father trailing behind her. Once Sarada saw her mother, she stopped and tried to get up on two feet.

"You can do it, Sara-chan!" Sakura cheered. Sarada was up and taking a few wobbly steps towards her mother when her legs gave way and she fell on her bum. It was silent as Sarada sat in stun while her parents waited for her reaction with bated breath. All was well when Sarada squealed out loud with delight, causing her parents to chuckle. Sasuke walked forward and picked his daughter up with his right arm under her arms. Walking towards Sakura, Sarada reached for her mama while still in Sasuke's hold. Sakura giggled at her daughter and proceeded to pick her from Sasuke's grasp.

"How are you this morning, my little Sara-chan?" Sakura asked her daughter as Sarada played with the purple rhombus on her forehead before settling her own little forehead against it. Sakura grinned and slowly started to spin them around, causing Sarada to shriek with delight. She slowed down and turned towards her husband who was busy putting away the groceries,

"Sasuke-kun, have you fed Sarada yet?" Sakura questioned as she lightly placed a hand to steady the child from the aftereffects of the spin (Sarada's eyes were following the moving room).

"Aa, I did. Sarada is an easy child to feed." Sasuke replied as he picked up the last shopping bag, it was of a different pattern from the other ones he had just emptied. He raised an eyebrow at Sakura in curiosity; his wife only urged him to take out what was inside. He did and brought out a little pair of black shoes with lace trimmings. Sakura grinned,

"Aren't they the cutest? I think that it would fit Sarada perfectly!" She squealed, hugging her daughter closer causing Sarada to laugh and hug her back. Sasuke smiled and walked towards them as Sakura sat on the floor with Sarada on her lap.

"Sara-chan, mama has a surprise for you." Sakura cooed, gesturing towards her husband who had squatted down next to them. Sasuke gingerly held out the shoes for Sarada to inspect. Sarada reached out to grab the shoes and Sasuke gave it to her, only for her to try to put it in her mouth. Sakura gently stopped her daughter,

"No, Sara-chan. These are not for biting." She took the shoes from Sarada and placed Sarada's foot into one of the shoes.

"Sara-chan, these are shoes. We wear shoes on our feet to protect our feet." Sakura gently instructed holding out Sarada's other leg for Sasuke to put on the other shoe; the shoes were a perfect fit.

"Swho…?" Sarada tested out the new word. Sasuke nodded,

"Aa, shoe. You're very fast, Sarada." He spoke with pride. Sarada grinned brightly at her papa before turning to her mama and repeating the word again. Sakura beamed at her,

"These look so cute on you!" Sakura gushed.

"Walk." Sarada said before she tried to stand up.

"Oh, Sara-chan wants to try out her new shoes?" Sakura asked as she held on to Sarada's right hand. Sasuke had held on to Sarada's left hand, supporting her while his wife stood up.

With her papa on her left and her mama on her right, both holding her hand to support her, Sarada took her first steps in her new shoes. Sasuke and Sakura both glanced at each other fondly before looking at their daughter with love and pride evident in their eyes.

 _~Up next, Day 23~_


	23. Family

A/N: I wanted to write them having more kid, you know… Hahaha. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei!

 **Summary: Sasuke begins his journey of eliminating Konoha's threats.**

* * *

 _ **Day 23: Plural**_

* * *

He thinks that this is for the best as he prepared for his mission; he has investigated and theorised that a threat greater than Kaguya may be appearing soon. As the only person with the Rinnegan, and therefore able to trace Kaguya's whereabouts, he was the most suited for the mission. Sakura had offered to go with him, but they both knew that she had to stay back in Konoha to raise Sarada.

Sasuke leaned on the wall for support as he wore his shoes, as Sakura walked up to him, cradling a sleeping Sarada in her arms and a bento in one hand. She was silent as Sasuke stood up and thanked her for the bento, her eyes filled with unshed tears. Sasuke placed the bento down on the cupboard next to him and wiped away the tears from the edge of her eyes,

"Don't cry, Sakura. I promise that I'll finish this mission as soon as possible. You and Sarada are going to be just fine." He spoke softly, not wanting to wake his daughter up. Sakura nodded and leaned into his touch,

"It will be hard on you these next few years, bringing Sarada up on your own… I'm sorry that I might be here to witness many of her milestones." Sasuke continued. Sakura shook her head,

"I'll be fine, darling. We both know that I'm never alone here in Konoha. Don't worry; I'll take lots of pictures of Sarada for you when you come back." She promised. Sasuke nodded, stroking his daughter's head before bending down and placing a kiss on her forehead, causing Sarada to shift slightly,

"Papa is sorry that papa might not be here for a while. But papa is sure that Sarada will grow up to be as great a shinobi as mama. Papa loves you so much." He murmured. Standing straight, he hugged both his wife and child tightly,

"I'll see the both of you soon, alright?" He breathed out, placing a lingering kiss on Sakura's forehead. Sakura stood on her toes, leaning into her husband and the kiss,

"Stay safe, Sasuke-kun. We'll be here waiting for you." She sniffled lightly. Sasuke broke away and picked up the bento,

"I will, Sakura. I'll be counting on you to keep the Sarada and yourself safe too."

With great reluctance, Sasuke tore away from the warmth of his home, and walked away from his family, towards the village gates. He needed to do this, he needed to protect his village, and he needed to protect his family. After all, he isn't the last Uchiha anymore, not when he has a wife and daughter that were waiting for his safe return.

 _~Up next, Day 24~_


	24. Cat Ears

A/N: Ooh, I am so late… Hahaha. Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Sasuke and Sakura take Sarada to Sora-ku.**

* * *

 ** _Day 24: Day Trip_**

* * *

A lizard sat on a rock, minding its own business and very much enjoying the heat of the desert when out of nowhere, a motorbike sped past where it was, it's thunderous noise scaring the poor lizard back into the safety of its home; meanwhile, the three cloaked figures on the motorbike with their helmets on didn't seem to have notice it at all. Sakura was the one at the front of the motorbike while her husband sat at the back and her daughter squished in the middle, both were holding on to her as she flew them through the desert.

"Mama, papa, where are we going?" Sarada questioned loudly over the roar of the bike.

"You'll see when we get there!" Sakura yelled from the front after briefly turning her head to the back slightly. Sarada pouted, wishing that her parents would just tell her where they were going already. She felt a light tap at the back of her helmet and turned back towards her father,

"It's too noisy to explain now Sarada, we promise to tell you all about it later." Her father promised, just loud enough to be heard over the engine of the bike. Sarada could only nod her head in acceptance as she cling tighter to her mother, hoping that they would reach wherever they're going before the midday sun.

"We're here!" Sakura announced, gesturing around her. Sarada looked around, noting that they were parked right in the middle of a desolated city. She turned towards her parents,

"Mama, when you said we're going on a day trip, I was expecting somewhere with people?" Sarada deadpanned; a habit she was quickly picking up from her father. Sakura, noticing that, elbowed Sasuke in the ribs as to chastise him. Sasuke only grunted while he pushed the motorbike nearer to a building, where he placed a jutsu on it to prevent anyone from stealing it.

"Sara-chan, you've mistaken what a day trip is." Sakura begins,

"A day trip is-" She continued, only to be interrupted by her daughter,

"A trip where it is made to and from a place within a day." Sarada elaborated. "I know, mama. But, why choose here? It's pretty much deserted." Sarada wondered. Sakura smiled in understanding,

"Sara-chan, this is Sora-ku. This is where the Uchiha family store their munitions." Sakura explained as her husband stood next to her, searching the area for any threats.

"Papa and mama thought that since have just passed your chunnin examinations; we thought that we'd bring you here to stock up on your weapons and teach you all about Sora-ku at the same time." Sakura continued, pulling her daughter closer as cats started to appear.

"There sure are a lot of cats here, mama?" Sarada questioned as she took a closer look at the cats, some had forehead protectors on.

"Sarada, these are Ninneko, they provide security to the people of Sora-ku. They determine if we are allowed to stay in Sora-ku." Sasuke explained to his daughter as a Ninneko slowly approached them.

"We are of the Uchiha Clan and we wish to visit Nekobaa." Sasuke explained while his wife and daughter watch in silence. The Ninneko seemed to nod at its comrades before they parted a path for the Uchiha Family to go through. Sasuke and Sakura nodded bowed their head in thanks as they followed the path.

"Who is this Nekobaa?" Sarada asked her father. Sakura chuckled from beside her,

"Ne, Sara-chan. Do you remember Kiba-ojisan's girlfriend?" Sakura asked with a twinkle in her eyes. Sarada nodded, slightly unsure as to what her mother was implying,

"You mean Tamaki-san?" Sarada offered. Sakura nodded her head enthusiastically,

"Well, Nekobaa would be Tamaki's grandmother. Nekobaa runs a supply shop that the Uchiha clan uses." Sakura elaborated as they reached a store. Sasuke knocked on the door and it opened slightly,

"Ooh, Uchiha Sasuke! It has been such a long time since you've been here!" A voice called out before the door was opened widely. Sarada took in the lady that stood before them, with her black nose and cat ears. Nekobaa glanced at Sakura and Sarada,

"Ooh, I see that you brought your wife and child as well!" She gushed. Nekobaa smiled gently at Sarada,

"It has been such a long time, Sarada-chan! You were just a small baby the last time I saw you. I'm guessing that you're going to be 13 years old soon?" Nekobaa asked as Sarada nodded,

"It is nice to meet you, Nekobaa." Sarada bowed, because even if she didn't know Nekobaa, she still had to show respect. Nekobaa's eyes shone,

"Such a well-mannered child you have raised." Nekobaa praised.

"Oh, where are my manners? Do come in to my shop! Don't mind the cats, they won't bite." She ushered them into her shop. Sarada was fascinated by the cats and she followed them around, playing with them while her mother watched on. Nekobaa noticed this and asked Sarada,

"Sara-chan, do you wish to speak to the cats?" Nekobaa offered. Sarada turned her head towards the old lady,

"I can do that" She asked, her eyes glimmering with hope. Chuckling, Nekobaa produced three cat-eared hairbands causing Sakura to giggle while Sasuke glared at his wife. Sarada only looked at her parents in confusion.

"Just put this on and you'll be able to understand them." Nekobaa instructed. Sarada nodded and put it on, along with her mother. Suddenly, she heard a voice called,

"Hey, you're a new Uchiha, aren't you?" A voice called out. Sarada was surprised at the voice and looked around.

"Down here." The voice called out again. Sarada looked down and to her surprise; a white cat was staring back at her.

"You talked…" Sara breathed out in surprise. The cat licked its paw, cleaning itself,

"Of course we can talk, we are Ninneko after all." The cat explained.

"Cool!" Sarada exclaimed looking around for her parents. She saw them to the far end of the room. Her mother was wearing the white and pink cat-eared hairband while her father was trying to get as far away as possible from his wife.

"Come on, Sasuke-kun! You'll look so cute in this!" Sakura gushed, trying her best to place the hairband on her husband.

"No, I won't. Stop it, Sakura." Sasuke glared, fighting off his wife with his only hand. Of course, with the advantage of having both her arms and superhuman strength, Sakura won in the end causing Sasuke to sulk with the cat ears on. Sarada giggled and ran towards her parents,

"Papa looks so funny!" Sarada exclaimed. Sakura nodded her head and brought out a camera,

"I didn't take a picture of our father in cat ears when we were younger so I'll be sure to take it this time." Sakura grinned as she took a picture of the three of them.

"When you guys were younger?" Sarada questioned and Sakura launched into the epic tale of how Team 7 was assigned a mission to collect a paw print for the Paw Encyclopaedia her Itachi-ojisan had left for her father.

Nekobaa chuckled at the sight of the mother telling the story with exaggerated gestures and placed a few cups of tea and some biscuits on the table. As Sasuke sat down with his cup of tea, Nekobaa got into business,

"So, what does the Uchiha family need from me?" Nekobaa asked, sipping her tea. Sasuke placed his cup down,

"We need new weapons for Sarada over here and you happen to sell the best of the best." He explained. Nekobaa's eyes glimmered,

"Why Sasuke, of course I have to best weapons, I'll be glad to show them to you. Follow me." She ordered. Sasuke nodded his head towards Sakura who immediately got the message.

"Come on, Sara-chan. We'll go have a look at those weapons now." Sakura explained as she held on to Sarada's hand and quickly tailed after her husband. Sarada was excited thinking about what kind of weapons her parents would be purchasing when suddenly a thought came to her. She tugged gently at her mother,

"Mama, if we wanted to buy weapons, how come we didn't buy it from Tenten-obasan's shop? She sells many good quality weapons as well, doesn't she?" Sarada questioned.

"Well, Nekobaa sells a certain weapon that mama and papa have been searching for. And since we're already here, why not get your weapons from here as well?" Sakura explained as they reached the storage. Nekobaa turned towards them,

"What weapons does Sarada-chan need?" She asked.

"Well, has just graduated into chunnin. So, can you prepare that for us?" Sakura requested.

"Of course, that would not be a problem." Nekobaa said.

"Oh, and has the weapons we requested arrive yet?" Sakura added as an afterthought. Nekobaa grinned,

"Ah yes, those arrive just a few day ago. Wait here while I go get it." And with that, Nekobaa left them on their own. Sarada looked at her parents,

"What did mama and papa order?" She asked. Sasuke ruffled her hair and Sakura smiled,

"Patience, Sara-chan, is important to a shinobi. It'll be here in a second." Sakura whispered. Just as she said it, Nekobaa returned with their weapons. She handed Sarada the standard Chunnin kit and a smaller box to Sasuke. Helping Sarada to seal her new weapons into a scroll, Sakura turned towards the box that Sasuke held. She opened it and produced three kunai. She handed them to Sarada,

"Sara-chan, please focus your chakra into these kunai. You don't have to put in a lot, just a little bit would be sufficient. Sarada did it without questioning; her hands glowed blue as she focused her chakra into the kunai before they faded,

"Done, mama." Sarada announced, awaiting her mother's next order. Sakura examined the kunai and took a kunai from the three to focus her own chakra into it before handing it to her husband who did the same thing. She brought Sarada's focus to the kunai that she was holing,

"Sara-chan, see this kunai that I'm holding?" Sakura asked as Sarada nodded,

"Okay, this kunai now belongs to you. Hand over the other two kunai." Sakura instructed as they both exchanged kunai. Sarada took a closer look at her kunai and found an engraving of her name, "Uchiha Sarada" on the blade of the kunai she now held. Sakura showed Sarada the kunai the held and Sarada was surprised to see her parents' name, "Uchiha Sasuke" and "Uchiha Sakura" also engraved into the blade of the kunai. Sakura handed Sasuke his kunai and they both inserted their chakra into their own kunai before turning towards Sarada,

"Sara-chan, these kunai are very special. Since you have become chunnin soon, it means that the missions you get are going to be tougher. If you happen to be in danger, just flare your chakra into the kunai you hold and mama and papa will know just where to find you or send help." Sakura explained.

"How would you know that, mama?" Sarada asked. Sakura held up her own kunai,

"Well, your kunai has both mama and papa's chakra in there too. So, when you flare your chakra, our kunai, with our chakra and yours, will determine where you." Sakura further explained. Sarada cocked her head,

"What if someone uses my kunai to get mama and papa to go to them?" Sarada asked worriedly. Sasuke crouched down, so that he was eye to eye with his daughter. He held his daughter's hands,

"You don't have to worry about that, Sarada. The kunai will only be activated with your chakra and only your chakra." He explained proud that his daughter was thinking ahead for all of their sake.

"Can't they inject their chakra and use it?" Sarada inquired some more, determined to find any flaws that could be corrected. Sasuke shook his head,

"Mama and papa's kunai doesn't have their chakra in. So, when that happens, our kunai will give a different signal and your kunai will stun the enemy holding it until your mama or I get there to undo the trap." Sasuke finished, smirking. Sarada nodded before looking up again,

"Then, what about papa and mama? Don't you guys have a way of knowing when the other is in danger?" Sarada asked, wondering if her father cared for her mother as much as he mother did for him. Sakura and Sasuke both glanced at each other before they held out their hands, or hand, in Sasuke's case, where they wore their wedding ring, causing Sarada's eyes to widen in surprise,

"Sarada, we had our wedding rings made with the same material as the kunai." Sasuke explained. Sarada grinned brightly as she envelope both her parents in a hug while Nekobaa 'awwed' at the side. Her parents chuckled and stroke her hair before they stood up to their full height. Sasuke handed the money to Nekobaa and thank her for her services. Nekobaa looked at Sarada,

"Sarada-chan, if you want, you can keep the cat ears." Nekobaa offered, pointing at the cat-eared hairbands that the still wore, much to Sasuke's dismay who quickly snatched it out of his hair. Sakura and Sarada giggled before they thanked Nekobaa.

Nekobaa saw them out of the shop, with her Ninneko meowing their 'goodbyes'. Sarada waved back at them before she ran to catch up with her parents, holding on to their hands. Sakura glanced down,

"Ready to go home, Sara-chan?" She asked as geared up for the trip back. Sarada nodded and as they rode back to Konoha with the desert as their background, Sarada couldn't help but think that this was probably the best day trip ever.

 _~Up next, Day 25~_


	25. Training Time!

A/N: I have made a terrible mistake… I read the prompt as 'Plant your SEEDS, watch them grow… ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Then my thoughts swayed and I had a hard time getting back on track… hahaha... enjoy?

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei!

 **Summary: The Chunnin exam is approaching!**

* * *

 _ **Day 25: "Plant your trees, watch them grow"**_

* * *

A massive fireball burst over the lake, its high temperature immediately boiling the surface of the lake. Sarada was breathing heavily as the fireball receded, happy that she had managed one so huge for a long period of time. She turned back towards her parents that were standing behind her; Sakura clapping and cheering while Sasuke smirked with pride, and grinned.

"You are awesome, Sara-chan! Mama and papa are so proud of you!" Sakura exclaimed, running over to her daughter and checking if she was injured in any way. Sasuke walked towards them,

"Well done, Sarada. You have mastered that jutsu exceptionally well." He praised. Sarada beamed,

"Thank you, papa, for teaching me." She hugged her father. Sasuke smiled slightly and ruffled her hair,

"It is my pleasure to pass down the clan's jutsu onto you. You are, after all, my daughter." He explained. Sarada looked up at him, her eyes wide,

"Then papa, you will teach me other jutsu as well, right?" She asked voice filled with excitement. Sasuke nodded and Sarada leapt in joy,

"That's great! I'm so happy that mama and papa are the ones training me for the Chunnin exams! I am so going to use these jutsu in the exam!" Sarada gushed. Sakura laughed,

"Of course, honey. Who else but us are better suited to train our daughter?" Sakura teased gently. Sasuke nodded in agreement; he was proud that Sarada had come so far with her training even though she had just started; he is pleased that his daughter is an exceptionally fast learner.

"Sara-chan, it is now mama's turn to teach you some basic healing jutsu before we train your reflexes at dodging attacks." Sakura continued, mentally preparing the training schedule for her daughter. Suddenly, she was reminded of something. Quickly, she checked the time and gasped,

"Sasuke-kun, it is time for you to train Boruto!" Sakura exclaimed. Sasuke snorted,

"That kid needs to learn a lesson on patience and control. Me being late for his training is also part of his training." Sasuke explained, shrugging. Sakura sighed, having heard from Hinata about Boruto's behaviour regarding his father,

"Boruto is a nice kid; he treats his sister very well. He's only acting that way because he wants Naruto's attention." Sakura explained, gently placing her hand on Sasuke's shoulder. He nodded,

"I know that, that's why I'll do my best." He crouched down to Sarada's level.

"I'll be going first. When I get back later, we can go over the usage of your Sharingan, okay?" He offered. Sarada nodded, smiling,

"Yes, papa! Now go before Boruto kicks up a fuss!" She shooed him away playfully. Sasuke smiled and poked her forehead,

"I'll see the both of you tonight." He promised as he stood up.

"Have fun, darling!" Sakura called out, waving. Sasuke only shook his head in amusement as he walked to where he was supposed to meet Boruto.

On his walk towards Boruto, he saw many parents helping out their kids with various jutsu and skills that were passed down from the previous generation. All were eager to see the kids grow mentally and physically from the lessons that their elders are planting into them, especially this near the exams. Everyone was making sure that the next generation of kids were going to grow up to be strong leaders who were just, fair and caring.

 _~Up next, Day 26~_


	26. Love Bites

A/N: I will proudly announce that instead of writing my own fic, I have been binge reading other people's works! Enjoy this fic!

P.S. Careful, there are some swearing in this and some of the situations mentioned might have implied "horizontal dancing" or heavy make out session or whatever stuff your (and mine) mind can think off!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Sakura deals with bullies! Sasuke to appear!**

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 ** _Day 26: Boarding Schools_**

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"Good morning, Haruno-senpai!" a group of girls greeted.

"Haruno-senpai, you're looking so beautiful this morning!" a love stricken boy professed.

"Thank you for helping me with Bio yesterday, Haruno-san!" a student bowed in thanks.

Sakura smiled and waved back in greeting. These were some of the daily greetings that Haruno Sakura received in the morning on the way to the main building. As a prefect in the prestigious Konoha Boarding School, Sakura set a perfect example for her fellow peers and younger schoolmates. She's caring, helpful, smart, brave and beautiful; she was generally well liked by the boarders of the school.

Sakura pushed open the door to the Prefects Room, where a meeting was about to be held with Uzumaki Naruto as the Head prefect and Hyuuga Hinata as the Secretary. On Naruto's right stood Uchiha Sasuke, head of the Disciplinary Group and on Naruto's left sat Nara Shikamaru, the Vice Head Prefect, Naruto's advisor. Sakura smiled at them and took her position as part of the Disciplinary Group on Naruto's right, next to Sasuke. She observed quietly as the room filled up with various students with different roles. She felt a nudge from Sasuke and turned to look at him, curiosity evident in her eyes. His dark eyes lifted from something that was on her neck and pointed his index finger discreetly at his neck. Sakura looked at him with an eyebrow raised before her face flushed red and she hurried to fix her collar. Sakura scowled slightly and straighten her collar as high as possible, suddenly very conscious of her neck. Quietly, at her side, Sasuke chuckled before turning his attention back to Naruto as the meeting started.

The meeting was adjourned and the prefects were all told to attend to their duties. Sakura left the room and headed towards the cafeteria to grab a bite before classes started. As she neared the cafeteria, she heard a commotion from within. Quickly, she sped up her pace and entered the cafeteria. Inside, she saw that the cafeteria was empty save for a bunch of seniors were bullying their younger peers. The bullies were shoving the poor students around and threatening them to not tell the teachers. Sakura's blood boiled, she had experience being bullied and was not about to walk away without helping the poor students. Also, it was her duty as part of the Disciplinary Group to stop the bullying.

She marched straight up to the bullies and pushed them away from the students. She bent down, whispered something to one of the students and helped them up when she felt a hand tugged hard at her shoulder, forcing her to stand back up and turn towards the source of annoyance,

"You bitch, who do you think you are to mess with us?!" The aggressor barked out. Sakura narrowed her green eyes at him,

"You should know better than to pick on the younger student." She advised as she stood straight and looked him in the eyes, her prefect badge reflected in the sunlight. Recognition entered the bully's eye and he grinned,

"Well, well, well, who do we have here? Isn't it prefect Haruno Sakura?" He mocked.

"Aren't you brave to challenge me, Kawata Hiroto, and my pals over here?" He gestured at his friends who were sneering at Sakura. The bell for the first class rang,

"Thank you for giving me your name, I'll be sure to pass it to the Disciplinary Teacher." Sakura spoke, and motioned for the bullied students to get away and they did, rushing past the wall of meat. Hiroto smirked, letting them go, since he and his gang have found someone more interesting to play with.

"I would advise you not to that, you bitch, if you know what is good for you." He towered over her, relying on his size for intimidation. Sakura only huffed and crossed her arms,

"Yeah, that intimidation tactic is not going to work. You better leave before I really report you and your friends." She said, looking rather fierce. Hiroto and his pals laughed out loud,

"Hahaha! Did you hear that boys? Miss Haruno here thinks she can order us to do anything she wants!" They bellowed. Sakura's eyes narrowed even further, and Hiroto laughed some more,

"What? Do you think that you can take us on? All by yourself?" He asked her. Sakura scoffed,

"I can take you guys anytime. I'm only warning you because it is not good if I, a prefect started a fight." She explained; waiting until Hiroto took the first move. Hiroto growled and picked her up by her collar leaving Sakura dangling a foot off the floor,

"You fucking bitch! You think you're better than us just because you're a prefect, don't you?!" Hiroto shook her in the air, and Sakura placed her hand on top of the weak spots on the hand holding her collar and got ready to defend herself. Hiroto continued,

"Me and my guys here will-" He stopped when he noticed her neck. Hiroto then grinned lecherously and whistled low,

"Look at what we have here, boys. It seems that the perfect image that this bitch puts up is just a show!" He laughed aloud, and ripped her uniform slightly wider, causing the first three buttons to pop out. His friends gathered around him to see what had caught his attention. There, peppering Sakura's neck, collarbone and the top of her breasts, where the bra didn't cover, were hickeys, and they looked fresh. Hiroto tutted,

"Well now boys, we have an extremely naughty girl in our hands. It seems that little Haruno here is a slut behind her image as a prefect." He guffawed with his pals.

"Tell me, Haruno, how many boys did you 'serviced'? And how much did it cost them?" He mocked and threw her to the floor where she glared at them and held her shirt closed with her hands.

"I mean, I get it if it was just your boyfriend, but with that amount, I doubt that there was only one!" Hiroto taunted as his friends whistled. Sakura stood up straight, her chin held up high,

"You'll be sorry for messing with me, you punks!" Sakura spat out, her anger showing and she got into a defensive stance. This caused the bullies to snigger,

"Oh please, what can you do alone? You were stupid to approach us alone." Hiroto sneered. Beside him, one of his friends voiced out a concern,

"I thought that prefects normally work in pairs?" He asked Hiroto. Hiroto shrugged,

"He's probably in class like the rest of the goody two shoes." He got into a fighting stance as well.

"Get her!" He commanded his friends and they lunged for Sakura. It seems that they have underestimated the pink haired prefect as she easily took them down with well-timed kicks and punches. Hiroto gritted his teeth, who knew that for someone so tiny, she was so strong? He decided to wait for the moment when she was too preoccupied before he stroked her. Seeing it, Hiroto quickly lunged at her back, not wanting to give her time to react, only to suddenly find his world turned upside down.

 _'_ _What the fuck?'_ He thought as he crashed onto the floor. He winced at the pain he felt throughout his whole body. _'Shit'_ he cursed. _'What the hell just happened?'_ He tried to get back onto his feet.

"I would advise you to stay down before I make things worse for you." A voice deeper than Sakura's warned him. Hiroto snapped his head towards the direction of the voice and his eyes widen in fear when he realised who it was that had spoken. There, in front of him, with the unconscious bodies of his friends pilled around them stood Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke; Sasuke was draping his jacket over Sakura to help cover her up.

"U-Uchiha Sasuke!" Hiroto stuttered. Immediately, he felt his body go rigid as the fear settled on him. Sasuke looked absolutely livid as he glared at Hiroto from the corner of his eye,

"You are going to pay for this, fucker." Sasuke snarled and was about to take a step in Hiroto's direction when small hands stopped him. He looked back down at Sakura, who shook her head. Sasuke glared slightly before nodding his concede, he turned towards Hiroto,

"This would be your first and last warning, Kawata. If you fuck up again, it'll be your head." Sasuke warned before he escorted Sakura towards the infirmary, leaving Hiroto trembling.

Hiroto trembled as he recalled who Sakura's prefect partner was; Uchiha Sasuke was the head of the prefect's disciplinary group, and he was also known as a wild beast, using methods that were bordering on violence when he steps in. Uchiha Sasuke was not usually involved unless students were especially violent. The only one that seems to be able to calm the fury in the Uchiha was Haruno herself. Hiroto swallowed as he tried to calm himself down, it had been a close call just now. If Sakura had permitted it, Hiroto knew that for sure he and his gang would have had to spend an entire week in the infirmary instead of just sporting bruises.

Outside, on the way to the infirmary, Sasuke was glaring at Sakura. Sakura smiled sheepishly,

"I didn't know that things would have escalated to that extent, Sasuke-kun." She scratched her cheek. Sasuke sighed,

"You could have called for me earlier, Sakura." Sasuke raked a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"I did, Sasuke-kun! You just took your own sweet time!" Sakura protested, linking her fingers through his. She turned serious,

"It seems the reports might be correct, Kawata Hiroto and his gang never used to be so violent. Sure, they did some light bullying but they never fought back when faced with a prefect. It seems that someone is distributing something to the students that agitates them, making them have shorter fuse and a lust for violence." Sakura voiced aloud, remembering the subject of the meeting from this morning. Sasuke squeezed her hand,

"You sure you're okay?" He asked softly.

"Yeah, I only have a ripped shirt to worry about." Sakura replied, still thinking about Hiroto's behaviour. Sasuke noticed and thought of a way to snap her out of it,

"Hn, I don't know about you, but I like the view right now very much." He smirked looking pointedly at the hickeys he had left. Sakura was snapped out of it,

"Huh? What do you mean?" She followed his line of sight and squeaked, clutching his jacket around her tighter,

"You idiot! This is your entire fault, why'd you have to go and plant so many of those?!" She whined. Sasuke licked his lips and bent down to whisper in her ear,

"Why, it's because you're too delicious that I can't help myself." His breath caressed the shell of her ears. Flushing red, Sakura tried to push him away, only to be caught in his hug,

"You perverted-" She started only too be cut off.

"I'm glad." Sasuke muttered, burying his face into her pink locks.

"Huh?" She questioned.

"I'm glad you're safe, Sakura." He explained, breathing in her scent.

"Well, I can take care of myself, you know." She looked to the side, a cute blush dusting her cheeks.

"I do know that, but just thinking of you getting into trouble is enough to give me a heart attack." He nuzzled.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun, for coming to my rescue." She stroked his hair before taking his face into her hands and planting a kiss on his lips.

 _~Up next, Day 27~_


	27. Request Sent!

A/N: Oh wow, I usually don't use any social media sites besides Tumblr… hahaha. Enjoy

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Sasuke comes across an old friend on Facebook.**

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 _ **Day 27: Social Media**_

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It was a Friday morning and Uchiha Sasuke was sitting in a café, scrolling through Facebook, reading statuses and posts, generally minding his own business when her profile came up on one of those 'People You May Know' section. Her profile photo was a candid one of her in a thick sweater reading a thick book with a steaming cup of tea in front of her; her pink locks tied up in a messy ponytail and her green eyes focused on the text in front of her.

He stared at the name 'Haruno Sakura' as his mind brought up memories from their junior high years in Konoha, before his family was transferred to Sound. He bushed slightly as he remembered that he used to have a massive crush on her and that she had a crush on him as well. Unfortunately, the two of them were too chicken to make the first move. Once he moved to sound, they never kept in touch and soon drifted apart.

It was only now that he moved back to Konoha because it boasted one of the best universities in the country. He clicked on her name to view her profile and saw that they had a few mutual friends, like the Uzumaki cousins Naruto and Karin. Curiously enough, she was also friends with Hyuuga Neji who was in the same university as him. As Sasuke looked through her profile page, he found that she was studying medicine in the same university as him (just that her campus was on the other side of town, located near the hospital).

He looked through her pictures and saw that she was as outgoing as she used to be. He scrolled back up, and clicked her 'About' button. Reading through her likes and dislikes, he came across a very important piece of information; it seems that her relationship status was currently 'single'. Thinking back to the time where the both of them were too cowardly to do anything about their relationship, Sasuke decided that he should at least give it a try. He's not going to let opportunity escape his grasp again.

Unable to stop the grin that appeared on his face, he clicked the 'Add Friend' button to send a friend request. Feeling that that wasn't enough, he messaged her,

"Hey Sakura, I'm not sure if you remember me but I'm Sasuke from junior high?" He pressed the 'send' button and waited anxiously. It was about ten minutes before she replied,

"Oh my gosh, Sasuke-kun? Wow, it has been such a long time! How are you?" She had replied. Sasuke had a small smile,

"Great, I've been doing well. I am actually back in Konoha and I was wondering if you'd want to meet up?" His shaky fingers typed as fast as they could. He stared at the screen in anticipation, Sakura was typing…

"That sounds great! Yeah, I would love to meet up with you! When are you free?" She replied. Thinking fast, Sasuke's fingers flowed across the keypad of his phone,

"I'm free tomorrow. How about 12 o'clock for lunch?" He quickly sent the message before adding another one under it,

"Do you still live in the same house?" His heart beating fast as he waited for her reply.

"I'm free tomorrow too!"

"Lunch sounds great!"

"Yeah, I still do. Why do you ask?" Sakura replied with three messages. Sasuke breathed in relief, glad that she had the time.

"I was thinking that I'll fetch you." He explained.

"Hahaha, ever the gentleman, Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke smirked but waited slightly longer before he replied, Sakura was still typing after all,

"But yeah, that would be very nice, Sasuke-kun!" She replied and sent him an image of a smiley face.

"Alright. So, I guess that I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura?" Sasuke wrote. Almost immediately, Sakura replied,

"Yes, I'm looking forward to tomorrow! Oh, I got to go, classes are starting soon. See you!" She had written before logging off. Sasuke smirked and stood up to head back towards his class,

 _'_ _Me too, Sakura. Me too.'_ He thought to himself.

 _~Up next, Day 28~_


	28. Is This Narnia?

A/N: Short one! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Sasuke vs. Orochimaru! The knight and the warlock!**

Day 28: Through the Wardrobe

 _'_ _Shit.'_ Sasuke thought, _'I didn't expect to fight forces of evil when I went through the wardrobe! I was only looking for a sweater!'_ He complained mentally.

"Let Sakura go, you fiend!" Uchiha Sasuke commanded with his sword pointed at the enemy. The warlock, Orochimaru, sneered at him and commanded his snakes to tighten their hold on the Faerie of the Forest, Haruno Sakura causing her to cry out in pain. Sasuke snarled and Orochimaru hissed,

"What do you think you can do, Sasuke-kun? You are a nobody from the other world, you don't belong here. Now shoo before I end your miserable life!" Orochimaru waved him off, intend to finish the ritual and gain immortality.

Sasuke tighten his hold on his sword, Kusanagi. He glared at it in annoyance, _'The sword is supposed to be enchanted! Why isn't it working?! Am I not worthy of the sword, after all?'_ He thought frantically. _'He's right. What can I do? I was nothing on earth, no one special at all.'_ His grip slackened in defeat. There was nothing he could do except watch the love of his life have her heart eaten.

"SASUKE-KUN! Don't lose hope! I know you can do it, I believe in you!" Sakura screamed as Orochimaru approached her, snapping Sasuke back into reality.

"Sakura…you" Sasuke trailed off. With tears streaming down her cheeks, Sakura yelled as loud as she could,

"I LOVE YOU, SASUKE-KUN!" She confessed with her entire being as Orochimaru unsheathed his dagger.

 _'_ _As long as you have the Will of Fire, you would be able to use the magical properties of the sword!'_ Sasuke recalled the advice of the fox spirit, Naruto who had given him Kusanagi. Sasuke grit his teeth,

 _'_ _I have no idea what the Will of Fire is, but all I know is that I have to save Sakura, even if it means my death!'_ With that thought in mind, he charged at Orochimaru. The sword crackled to life, electricity flowing through it. Suddenly, Sasuke felt himself moving faster than he ever did before,

 _'_ _What the…?'_ He thought, looking at Kusanagi which was humming with electricity. _'Kusanagi must be using its electrical properties to give me a boost!'_ He thought in surprise before his face morphed into absolute glee. _'Let's try out the sword!'_ He thought back to a number of attacks describe to him by Sakura during their travels. He blitz to Orochimaru's side, sword raised,

"Chidori!" Sasuke yelled out as the sword was covered with electricity and was elongated in length. Orochimaru, who was slow to respond suddenly found himself being pierced with electricity, electrocuting him. Sasuke cried out and pull Kusanagi upwards, easily slicing through bones and muscle causing Orochimaru to cry out in agony as the sword sliced him through. The snakes binding Sakura shrivelled and disintegrated, releasing her from their monstrous hold. Sakura dropped to the floor, coughing as her lungs screamed for air, and Sasuke immediately ran to her, rubbing circles on her back.

"Sakura, are you okay?" He asked worriedly, eyes checking her for any other wounds. She nodded her head,

"I'm fine, Sasuke-kun. What about Orochimaru?" She gasped out. Sasuke gestured to where Orochimaru's corpse was only to find it gone.

"What? But it was just here!" Sasuke questioned in surprise. Sakura stood up and helped Sasuke to his feet,

"It seems that he must have retreated for now, to heal himself and to gather more followers, I suppose." Sakura theorised and Sasuke nodded his head. Sakura turned towards Sasuke,

"I suppose that means that you'll be staying with me…err…I mean us, for a while longer? Would you help us defeat Orochimaru, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura looked up at him shyly, her cheeks flushed red. Sasuke smiled softly and took her hands in his,

"I suppose that I can do that." He brought her soft hands up to his lips for a kiss.

 _~Up next, Day 29~_


	29. Let's Save The Day!

A/N: I'm so sorry I'm late! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Sometimes, the hero needs backup too.**

* * *

 ** _Day 29: Superheroes_**

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"Sasuke! I said no major damages! Do you know how much reconstruction cost?!" The male voice came from his earpiece. Sasuke waved him off,

"Relax dobe; it is literally an abandoned village. The only ones here are the demons and me." Sasuke replied as he blew another fireball at the demons. There was a shriek from his earpiece that caused him to flinch,

"The whole place is lit up from your stupid fire! I can see it all the way from the city! This was supposed to be a stealth mission!" Naruto wailed as he imagined all the paperwork that has to be done once the fight was over. Sasuke snorted,

"You used to cause even more damage, dobe." He deadpanned, unsheathing his katana and began slicing at the demons. There was a sob from the earpiece,

"That was before I got 'promoted' to desk work…" Naruto whined. Suddenly, he widened his eyes as he saw something on the scanner.

"Sasuke, are you okay? There's a sudden influx of demons around you." Naruto asked worriedly. He heard gasps coming from the earpiece.

"Naruto, send backup, there's a totally new hoard of demons appearing and they seem to be unfazed by my flames." Sasuke requested. Naruto nodded his head,

"Roger that, Sasuke. Hang in there a little while longer. I'll send the perfect person to you. I'm sure you'll be glad to see her." Naruto grinned. Sasuke chuckled in amusement,

"Yeah, she's perfect for the job." He replied as he cloaked himself in Susanoo as a protective barrier. The demons began absorbing Susanoo's flame and grew in size. Sasuke 'tch'ed and dispelled Susanoo, immediately making his way towards the abandoned houses that weren't on fire. He crouched down and formulated a plan,

 _'_ _With their increase in size, I can only take them down one by one instead of all at once with my katana and fire attacks would only help them, that means that they are weak against water and earth. I need a large amount of water to take them down.'_ He thought as his mind frantically worked out the geographical map of the village. _'If I'm right, there should be a lake just north of where I am now… I should head there; it would decrease the chances of me being attacke1d until SHE arrives.'_ With that thought, he immediately rushed towards where he thought the lake was, taking out whatever demons he could on the way.

Just as he had the lake in his sight, he was stopped short as an enormous flaming arm landed almost next to him, burning his shoulder. Cringing in pain (because he heals faster than normal humans, it doesn't mean it hurts any less), he couldn't move away as the fire demon raised its arm again. With a swift movement, the fiery arm came crashing down. Sasuke instinctively closed his eyes and braced for the impact, only to find him being carried away. Surprised, he opened his eyes and looked at his rescuer, whose glowing green eyes were staring back at him in amusement as her shocking pink hair danced wildly with the wind. She grinned at him,

"This is the first time that I'm saving the hero instead of the other way round." She teased him. Sasuke breathed a sigh in relief,

"Good timing, Sakura. Usually, you're late for almost everything." He countered and her face flushed red,

"Oh, do shut up Sasuke-kun. For someone who is supposed to be my boyfriend, you do like to tease me a lot." Sakura complained jokingly. Sasuke smirked and brushed her hair from her forehead, revealing a purple rhombus. He leaned in and touched his forehead with hers,

"Thanks, Sakura." He whispered. Sakura grinned and placed a quick peck on the tip of his nose,

"As Naruto always say, heroes are always the last to arrive…or something along that line." She replied, sticking her tongue out. Sakura turned her head towards the monster as she bandaged Sasuke's shoulder,

"So, what do you want me to do?" She asked him.

"It's a fire demon. I had hoped that you can bury him under six feet under." Sasuke half joked. Sakura smirked in glee,

"Will do, Captain!" She mocked saluted him. She ran towards the monster and leapt high up into the sky. Concentrating her power in a her fist, she yelled as she punched the earth beneath the fire demon,

"SHANNARO!" She yelled, and the earth beneath her fists cracked and was completely demolished, creating a crater that effectively buried the fire demon and killing it. Sakura stood up from the disaster zone completely unscathed, brushing the dirt off her. She turned back to Sasuke and gave him a big grin to which he replied with a thumb's up. As she leapt back to where he was, she laughed out loud,

"Let's get the rest of them, Sasuke-kun!"

 _~Up next, Day 30~_


	30. A Game Of Fate

A/N: Oh wow, this would be the second last chapter SasuSaku Month ends! Gosh, has it already been a month? Planning to go out with a bang! So stay tuned for the next (and last) chapter! Enjoy!

P.S. I have no idea what I was writing with this…

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: Demon Apocalypse. (Soul)Mates.**

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 _ **Day 30: Dystopia / Apocalypse**_

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It all started when portals started appearing all around the world, allowing hellish beings to escape the confinement of the Underworld. 'The excessive amount of people playing games that allowed them to communicate with other worldly beings had caused the barrier between the two worlds to thin and hence allowing the beasts to escape' was the theory suggested by supernatural experts when everyone still lived in relative peace. At first, only lower class demons could use the portals and they were quickly dealt with using supernatural means. However, as time passed, more and more portals opened up, weakening the barrier, allowing higher class demons to pass through. These demons were intelligent beings and were able to adapt at a very fast pace; they were impossible to defeat. No longer than three months after the higher class demons came through, more than ninety percent of the human race were either killed or enslaved. The ten percent remaining were humans that were still on the run. These humans were heading towards more remote places, places where demons had not touched. Amongst them was a certain Uchiha Sasuke.

He trudge through the mud, along with his group of unlikely travel companions which consisted of former criminals, teachers, athletes and blue collar workers. They had formed the group thinking that if they were to stick together, they'd have a higher chance of surviving. Sasuke's eyes shifted to glance at newcomer of their group, a female doctor with pink hair, Haruno Sakura. They had saved her from a demon attack just a few weeks ago and had easily accepted her into their group. Sasuke couldn't help but feel slightly attracted to her for reasons unknown to him. It was foreign to him, this feeling of wanting to protect her, the possessiveness he felt towards her, and it shocked him. He was never a person easily swayed by emotion, but whenever she was around him, everything he did was for her. It also didn't help that it was obvious she was attracted to him as well; with her lingering gaze and intentional brushes against him.

"We'll rest here for the night before we start again tomorrow morning by five. I'll take first watch." The leader of the group instructed.

Everyone sagged in relief; they had been traveling non-stop for the whole day and were all near their limits. Some went off to catch dinner while the others set up camp. Sasuke sat under a tree and within minutes, had dozed off. Sakura, who was watching him from her place near the fire, only chuckled silently to herself. As Sasuke slept, he dreamt of a voice, telling him that he was hers; that he was chosen as her mate, and that there was no way that he could escape from her. Suddenly, he felt his shoulder burning, just at the base of his neck. It was painful enough that it jolted him awake. Sasuke gasped; his hand holding on to the spot where it burned; his eyes searching everywhere for any signs of demons. Seeing that everyone was sleeping peacefully, he breathed in deeply, trying to calm his racing heart down.

Suddenly, he felt a flutter of fingers trying to pry his hand from his shoulder. Sasuke instinctively tackled whoever it was to the floor, only to find himself staring into the brilliant green eyes of the good doctor. Sasuke's grip immediately slackened,

"Don't ever do that, Sakura." He growled out, immediately getting off her. She looked down in apology,

"Sorry Sasuke-kun. It's just that I thought you were in pain and my instincts as a doctor just took over." She muttered. Sasuke looked silently as her before he sighed,

"It's fine, my shoulder was hurting anyways. Can you take a look at it for me?" He faced away from her, allowing her to check his shoulder. Sakura gently pulled down the collar of his t-shirt and gasped softly, causing Sasuke to look back at her,

"What is it, Sakura?" He asked worriedly. Sakura traced the pattern on his back, unknowingly causing him to shudder lightly,

"It's a demon marking for mate, Sasuke-kun." Sakura whispered. Turning to face her fully, Sasuke stared at her incredulously,

"And how would you know that, Sakura?" He asked her, eyes narrowing. Sakura looked sullen,

"It happened to a friend of mine. One night, she had woken up screaming in pain on her wrist. When we took a look and saw that it was a pattern of a fox with demonic writings beneath it. Soon after that, we found ourselves being hunted, or rather, she was. The demon came after her and took her away. The next time I saw her, she was transformed into one of them, a demoness." Sakura finished, hugging her knees. Sasuke nodded,

"What is the pattern on mine?" He asked, after a moment of silence. Sakura looked at him from beneath her lashes,

"A cherry blossom." She breathed out. Sasuke nodded his head, rubbing the spot where the mark was supposed to be. He stopped suddenly,

 _'_ _A cherry blossom? Wasn't that another name for Sakura? Is it a coincidence?'_ He thought as he turned to look at the pinkette sitting beside him. She had a faraway look but she felt his eyes on her,

"Before my friend had the mark on her, she showed some strange symptoms towards another travel companion of ours" Sakura started.

"She started to get really possessive of him and would risk her life to make sure that he was safe. In the end, it turned out that he was the demon that had marked her as his mate." Sakura finished and turned her head to look at Sasuke straight in the eyes, showing off her cat-like pupils and grinned at him, exposing the fangs she had. Sasuke stumbled away from her,

"GET UP! THERE'S A DEMON!" He called out to the group. None of them stirred even the slightest. Sasuke ran towards the nearest person sleeping next to him and turned her around, only to retreat backwards when he saw the lifeless eyes staring back at him. He turned back towards Sakura whose appearance had changed; she had sprouted velvety wings like a bats and had a tail with a stinger at its tip. Her outfit had changed from t-shirt and cargo pants to a black two piece and thigh high stockings that ended at her ankles. She smirked at him,

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun. We should always let the dead rest." She chided at him, cat eyes glowing eerily green. Sasuke reached into his pack and pulled out a handgun, aiming it at her. Sakura laughed and he shot at her, only to watch the bullet deflect away from her.

"Sasuke-kun, you hurt my feelings. I only want you to be my mate. What's wrong with that?" She pouted at him as he ran deeper into the forest. She flapped her powerful wings and took off after him, easily catching up to him,

"If you ask Hinata, she'll tell you that she's having such a wonderful life with Naruto right now! It's a win-win solution, Sasuke-kun. Really, it is. You won't get killed or enslaved and I get to have you as a mate! Such a perfect ending, is it not?" She was giddy with excitement.

"Don't you know that it was fate that chose us to be mates? We don't have the choice of choosing our mates! This was all pre-ordained!" Sakura yelled as Sasuke reached a cliff. Sasuke looked over and saw how high the cliff was. Sakura groaned, knowing Sasuke's character,

'He's going to jump, isn't he?' She complained in her head. _'Well, he certainly has character. It is certainly going to be an interesting life with him.'_ She thought happily. Sasuke turned towards her,

"Catch me if you can." He dared her before he leapt off his edge. Sakura smirked,

"Gladly." She took off after him. She reached him before he passed the halfway point of the fall,

"Sasuke-kun, you and I will be very happy together, I promise." Sakura smiled at him and envelope him in a hug.

"Sorry, this might hurt a bit, Sasuke-kun." She warned before Sasuke felt a sharp pain as she stung him with the stinger on her tail,

"What did you do?" Sasuke asked. Sakura pulled him tighter towards her,

"You'll just be going to sleep as your body undergoes change. It's to make it less painful for you." She explained, flapping her wings and carrying him with her. As his vision blurred, he heard a melodic chuckle and a whisper,

"The next time you wake up, you'll be one of us." The voice whispered seductively by his ear. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was plump red lips, fangs, green eyes and shocking pink hair.

 _~Up next, Day 31~_


	31. Let Us Meet Again

A/N: The LAST DAY! Gosh! Wow, one month really just flew by like that! I feel so happy that I've completed the entire months' worth of prompts! I'm so proud that I managed to discipline myself to post one a day! I guess that the next time I'll write for SasuSaku is during next year's SSMonth (if I have the time). It had been a great journey for me and I hope that you guys enjoyed most of my stories! Thanks for reading! Enjoy the last fic!

P.S. When I meant going out with a bang, it didn't mean for me to post this almost two days late! I'm so sorry that I posted this so late! It took me quite some time to finish it! Hahaha… I hope you don't mind how long the fic is!

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters belong to Kishi-sensei.

 **Summary: A god falls in love with a human; true love can never be separated.**

* * *

 _ **Day 31: Reincarnation**_

* * *

Sasuke, the God of Lightning took a hit from the mighty Kaguya and fell from the heavens. He heard the screams of "Sasuke-teme!" coming from his best friend Naruto, the God of Thunder. He was paralysed as he fell; Kaguya seemed to have locked his powers, making him unable to access them. He felt the air shifted and turned heavy;

 _'_ _Shit, I'm heading into the realm of mortals! I need to move!'_ He thought frantically, attempting to break free of the paralysis. It was in vain, Sasuke couldn't even twitch his fingers. With each passing moment, he was sure that he was getting nearer to the ground,

 _'_ _This is going to hurt.'_ Sasuke thought as he braced himself for the incoming impact, even if he was a god, it would still hurt, a lot. To his surprise, he fell into water,

 _'_ _The ocean.'_ He thought to himself. This was worse, way worse. With the paralysation in effect, he was unable to swim to the surface. He glared at nothing and everything,

 _'_ _Who's idea was it that gods needed air to breathe when in the human realm?!'_ He mentally complained, as he felt the air in his lungs being used up. Sasuke struggled to move,

 _'_ _Tch, I can't die like this. Kaguya still hasn't been defeated yet!'_ He thought feeling the mark of the crescent moon on the palm of his left hand. He felt the burn in his lungs, and saw his vision growing darker.

 _'_ _No.'_ He protested weakly as his eyes slowly shut. The last thing he remembered was the feel of hands pulling him up.

* * *

Haruno Sakura panted as she reached the beach, pulling the strange man onto it. _'He just had to wear armour, didn't he?'_ She groaned mentally as she bends over him to check pulse. _'He has a pulse, but he's not breathing.'_ She diagnosed. Opening his mouth, she then turned him onto his side and started patting his back hard. Within a few moments, the strange man started coughing up the seawater that he had swallowed and Sakura sighed in relief. The strange man blinked hazily, his dark grey orbs looking around until they landed on her,

"W-what happened?" He croaked out, voice hoarse from the coughing. Sakura brushed away a strand of hair from his face,

"You nearly drowned, Samurai-dono." She assumed, eyeing the two swords that hung from the right side of his hip. She looked back at him only to find that he had passed out. Sakura checked his pulse once again and steadied herself; this was going to be a long walk home. Hitching his left arm over her and wrapping her right arm around his waist, she started the slow journey back to her house where she spent the next few hours tending to his wounds.

Sakura exhaled loudly while the samurai slept, knitting his eyebrows. Sakura chuckled at the almost permanent scowl etched onto his face. She reached over to smooth out the scowl and it did so almost immediately,

"When I take a closer look at him, he really is a good looking guy." Sakura mused as she traced the sharp features of his face. _'He's really beautiful'_ she thought.

 _'_ _Still, he is a strange samurai. He fell from the sky into the sea with all these wounds and still he's relatively fine, no fever whatsoever. Who or rather, what is he?'_ She had all these thoughts running rampant in her head. However, she'll only be able to get her answers when the samurai wakes up. Shrugging, she placed a kettle of water over the fire and then head into the bathroom to have a hot bath before she caught the chills.

By the time she stepped out of the bathroom, feeling fresh in her yukata, the water was just about boiling and the samurai's were open and staring at her. Unprepared for the intensity of his stare, she was stopped short and felt the heat rising up to her cheeks. The samurai spoke,

"Where am I? Who are you?" He asked her, eyes wary of her. Snapped out of her shock, Sakura smiled and headed over to the boiling water,

"You really shouldn't be sitting up right now, Samurai-dono." Sakura advised only for it to fall on deaf ears. She sighed deeply,

"My name is Haruno Sakura; I saved you from becoming a victim of the sea." She explained with her back turned towards him, showing him that she trusted him. Behind her, his deep voice was heard,

"Where are my weapons and armour?" He demanded. Turning around with two cups of tea in her hands, Sakura replied,

"Your armour is being dried while your weapons are kept in a room at the back. I wasn't too sure if you'd be violent or not when you wake up." She confessed. Holding out one of her hands, she presented him with a cup of tea,

"Here, you should drink this. It not only helps your wound to heal faster but it'll keep you warm as well." She explained. The samurai eyed her warily before deeming her safe and accepting the tea. Satisfied, she sat by the side of his futon, sipping on her tea,

"Samurai-dono, you have yet to introduce yourself." She indicated with a nod in his direction. He closed his eyes,

"You have no need to know my name, Haruno-san." He took a sip of the tea, surprised that it tasted good. Sakura pouted,

"But I don't want to keep referring to you as Samurai-dono. It's the least you could do after I saved your life…" She trailed off, not knowing if she had crossed the limit. Silence replied her and she sulked silently into her tea.

"It's Sasuke." Came the surprising reply. It was so sudden that Sakura nearly choked on her tea. Coughing, and eyes stinging with unshed tears, she looked at him in surprise,

"What?" She asked, not believing her ears. The Samurai 'tch'ed,

"My name is Sasuke, Haruno-san." He repeated. Sakura smiled brightly,

"You can call me Sakura, Sasuke-kun." She offered, familiarity already in her voice, while Sasuke only gave her a small nod. Sakura then turned serious,

"Say, Sasuke-kun. What happened to you? You managed to receive such deep injuries but you seem to be doing fine. Also, you fell from the sky. Can you explain?" She asked him, determined to find out the truth. He shook his head,

"No, I cannot tell you any of that. It is best if you stay out of it." He answered her. Sakura nodded her head solemnly,

"As long as it doesn't cause me any harm." She muttered. She then looked at his injuries,

"You know, you probably need to stay here for a while with injuries like those. I'm thinking about three months?" She observed. Sasuke shook his head,

"I can't stay. I-" He started, only to be cut off by her.

"It's fine, you are welcomed to stay here if you have nowhere to go. You can use my father's old clothes. Besides, you don't want them to open up again. As a physician, I deem that you not move around until the wound heals." With that, Sakura stood up and placed their empty cups in the sink. She laid out another futon and placed it next to the wall, far enough from Sasuke that it was respectable but near enough so that she could ted to any of his wounds. Within moments, she was fast asleep.

Sasuke stared at Sakura, while he tried to channel his electricity in his body only to find that his powers were still locked. He then tried to stand up, only to stop when a sharp jolt of pain ran up his leg. He cursed silently; it seemed that he's pretty much human at this point, as a god, his wounds usually heal fast. How was he able to get his powers back and get back into the heavens? He still had a job to defeat Kaguya with Naruto. He hoped that there was a shrine nearby…

* * *

The next morning, he voiced his question to Sakura who was busy preparing breakfast for the both of them. Sakura thought for a while,

"Well yeah, there is a shrine nearby. I think it belongs to the Goddess of Knowledge and Information?" Sakura wondered out loud. 'Excellent, just the goddess I need to talk to.' Sasuke smirked slightly. He then turned to look at Sakura,

"How long would it be before I can go to the shrine?" He asked her. Sakura eyes him, critically analysing his wounds,

"Well, the more serious injuries that you've received are all on your upper body; broken ribcages, stab wounds and a sprained left wrist. For your lower body, you only received cuts and bruises to your legs. Those hurt but they would cause no serious damage to you if you walk. I'm guessing you would be fit enough to walk to the shrine in two days." Sakura replied as she handed him a bowl of rice with various side dishes piled on top of it. Sasuke held the bowl in his left hand and tried to use the chopsticks with his right. Sakura, who noticed his slight fumbling couldn't help but ask,

"You are left handed, Sasuke-kun?" She chewed her rice. Sasuke nodded his head, but maintain concentration on using the chopsticks,

"I'll be fine. In a few minutes, I'll get used to using my right hand." He muttered. Sakura chewed thoughtfully,

"That's right, swordsman are usually trained to use both their hands, right?" She asked him.

"Aa." Came his reply. Sakura laughed slightly and continued eating. Sasuke had managed to hold his chopsticks,

"So, how are you so well versed in the area of medicine?" He questioned her. Looking back up at her, he saw that her eyes were shining and that she was grinning,

"Well…"

Sasuke found out that day that Sakura was immensely interested in the medicinal field. She could go on for hours talking about what had inspired her to enter this field, the treatment others give her when they found out a woman was playing doctor, the encouragement her patients give her when they thanked her for her help. Sakura told him that she had lost her family a few years ago and she was wandering around through different villages before she settled in the current one. Sakura had told him that she was the only female doctor in the prefecture and that even though people used to look down on her, they now frequently come to her for help. As she talked, Sasuke found himself even more intrigued by the female doctor with pink hair and green eyes in front of him. Sasuke couldn't find it in him to be bored by her, her excitement in talking only served to interest him even more. In the blink of an eye, two days had passed and Sasuke was declared healed enough to go to the shrine by Sakura.

"I'm sorry that I can't go with you, Sasuke-kun. It seems that I have a lot of patients today. I hope you don't mind!" Sakura apologised as she handed Sasuke a hand-drawn map. Sasuke shook his head,

"No, it's fine. I'll be back by dusk. You go tend to your patients." He told her before setting off for the shrine.

* * *

Sasuke had reached the shrine in no time; the map that Sakura had drawn was very easy to follow. He walked in and looked at the deity that was portrayed before looking around him to make sure that the shrine was empty. Satisfied, he took a deep breath,

"Karin, I wish to speak to you." He called out. A sudden gust of wind blew into the shrine and a voice called out,

"Oh, Sasuke-kun? I thought that you were with Naruto fighting Kaguya?" She asked him. Sasuke nodded his head,

"I was, until Kaguya got me with an attack that sent me down here to the mortal realm. I wish to know how to undo her seal and get back into the heavenly realms." He explained. Karin nodded her head,

"Ah, I see. Unfortunately, there isn't anything that can weaken Kaguya's seal except time. You can only wait until the seal wears off before you regain your powers and head back to the heavens. As it is, even I cannot bring you into the heavens." She told him. Sasuke gritted his teeth, what was he going to do? Who knew how long it takes for Kaguya's seal to wear off? Karin, sensing his dilemma chuckled,

"However, it is fortunate for you to fall into the human realm Sasuke-kun. Wait, before you blow your top off, let me explain. Time flows differently in the mortal realm as compared to the heavenly realm. A year in the heavenly realm is about a hundred years in the mortal realm." She started, holding a finger up to shush Sasuke.

"Kaguya's seal needs at least two to three months to weaken. Now, here's where it gets interesting, the seal needs three months, and only three months, no matter which realm you are in. Hence, if you stay in the mortal realm, you'll be able to quickly pass those three months and get back into the fight like you've only been gone for a minute or so. Hence, Sasuke-kun, just be a good God of Lightning and stay in the mortal realm. I'm sure that Naruto can handle a minute or two on his own." Karin smirked at him. Sasuke narrowed his eyes,

"Fine, I'll be back in three months." He promised. Karin chuckled,

"You mean a minute." Her voice teased as she slowly disappeared, leaving Sasuke standing alone in the shrine. Sasuke looked out and notice that the sun was already setting,

"Time to go back, before she worries." He muttered, starting his trip back. She was waiting by the door of her hut when he came back. She ran up to him,

"Sasuke-kun, are you alright? Did something happen along the way? Did you reopen any of your injuries?" She asked him, hands fretting all over his injuries. He grabbed her hand and slowly lowered it down,

"I'm fine, Sakura. I'm back, aren't I?" He asked looking straight at her. Sakura blushed and lowered her head,

"Sorry, I was just really worried." She mumbled. She looked back up at him and grabbed his hand,

"Come on Sasuke-kun, dinner is ready and I'm starving. Aren't you?" She gently tugged him into the house. Allowing her to tug at him, he followed he in,

"Yeah, I'm starved." He agreed quietly.

* * *

Sasuke's injuries healed faster than Sakura had expected, _'Sasuke-kun, how did you recover so fast?!'_ , but he stayed on with her as he waited for the seal to wear off. Day by day, he feels more and more of his powers coming back to him, but not enough for him to enter the heavenly realm yet. Sakura was secretly pleased that he had decided to stay on even after his wounds had healed; she had developed strong feelings for him. She wasn't the only one that developed feelings as well. Sasuke didn't realise it himself but he was attracted to the pink haired physician.

He was attracted to the kind and gentle ways she treats her patients, her famously short temper, her intelligence and wit, her beauty, her bravery and her will to never give up. Slowly, he found himself caring for her unconsciously; the way he tells her to always rest whenever she was pushing herself too much, the way he always made sure that she was the first to take a nice hot bath, the way he carried extra shopping for her even though he knew she was capable of doing it herself. One day, he argued within his mind that it was probably in his nature as a god to help her and care for her but the more realistic part of his mind fought back, saying,

"What kind of crap are you thinking? You are the God of Lightning; you are a god created to fight and kill off anything that threatens the heavenly realm. You would never help anyone just because it is 'in your nature' because it was never in your nature in the first place! You stupid fool; you're in love, with a mortal nonetheless!" Sasuke couldn't deny it anymore; he was in love with the pink haired mortal named Haruno Sakura. One night, after a rather depressing day for Sakura (she had lost a patient, he was only five), the both of them had a little too much to drink. With alcohol in their bloodstream, emotions were unleashed and they found themselves becoming one that very night.

* * *

Sasuke woke up slowly, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight coming through the window. Beside him, Sakura stirred from her sleep. She looked at him and smiled,

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun." She greeted him with a kiss on the lips, to which he replied,

"Morning, Sakura. How are you feeling?" He asked, yawning and stretching. Sakura giggled,

"I feel sore. But other than that, I have never felt better in my entire life." She sighed in happiness.

"Can you believe it? It has already been three months since we first met." Sakura mused, snuggling further into Sasuke. Sasuke stilled, has it already been three months? Doesn't that mean that…? He trailed off. He took a deep breath,

"Look, Sakura. I have to leave." He breathed. Sakura froze, and lifted her head,

"What…what do you mean, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura whispered. Sasuke looked away, his bangs shielding his face,

"I have to go. I can't stay here any longer. I have to fight Kaguya or she will take over all the realms." Sasuke froze at his mistake. Sakura looked him in the eye,

"Who is Kaguya?" She asked, green eyes analysing his every movement. Sasuke sighed and covered his face with his arm,

"Sakura, I'm not mortal. I come from the Heavenly kingdom. You mortals know me by the name of Uchiha Sasuke, God of Lightning." He confessed, unable to keep anything from her anymore. Sakura blinked at him,

"You're what?" She sat back in shock, then look down at herself, noting her lack of clothing. She then glared at Sasuke,

"Did you come down to the mortal realm just to play with my feelings and then have your way with me?" She asked him in a voice so cold it sent shivers down the god's back.

"What? No, no, I wouldn't do that. My feelings for you are as sure as the sun rises in the east." Sasuke was frantic; he didn't want Sakura to think less of him. He groaned,

"I am going to tell you everything." And he did. He told her all about Kaguya, all about the fight that would determine the fate of the realms. Sakura absorbed all this with widened eyes, she could hardly believe that she was talking to a god, and had slept with him no less! Sasuke finished and stared at Sakura in anticipation. She looked at him,

"Wow that was wild from start to finish. So, you are the God of Lightning?" She asked him. He nodded his head. Sakura thought for a while,

"Do you make the lightning appear in the sky?" She asked. He smirked,

"That only happens when I fight. My main duty is to protect the heavenly realm from attacks, together with the God of Thunder." Sakura sat back, processing the information. She got up,

"Well, excuse me, Sasuke-kun but I need to have a bath now." She stretched,

"Can you prepare breakfast, Sasuke-kun, before you leave to save the world?" She asked the god, sticking out her tongue. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in amusement but he nodded anyways,

"You will always be Sasuke-kun to me." Sakura told him as she left the room. Sasuke crackled his electricity over his skin, testing their power, _'Just a little bit more and I'll be able to return,'_ He thought, clenching and unclenching his left hand, where the crescent moon was. He looked longingly towards the direction where Sakura headed, _'Just a little more…'_ Suddenly, a crash was heard and Sakura's scream reverberated through the house. Sasuke grabbed his katana and rushed to where the sound came from, only to find Sakura being held ten feet in the air by Zetsu. Zetsu looked at Sasuke in surprise,

"What is the God of Lightning doing here?" Zetsu asked tightening his hold on an unconscious Sakura. Sasuke glared at him,

"And what brings you down here, you scum?" Sasuke questioned, hand ready to draw his katana. Zetsu laughed,

"Mother needs a vessel to come into the mortal realm. And this one here" he gestured to Sakura,

"Well, she has the perfect compatibility with mother." Zetsu sneered. Sasuke pointed the katana at him,

"Release her now, Zetsu, before you regret your decision to cross me!" Sasuke warned. Zetsu laughed,

"Now, now, Uchiha, you should be more worried about mother than me." Zetsu placated, slowly disappearing, along with Sakura. Sasuke leapt towards them, hand outstretched to grab onto Sakura, only to pass through her.

"SAKURA!" Sasuke cried out as she was taken to the heavenly realm. He cursed and with electricity crackling over his skin, his armour started to appear. Feeling his power return fully to him, he started to blitz upwards into the heavens, leaving streaks of lightning as his trail. Sasuke reached the heavens, where he saw Naruto fighting Kaguya. Naruto noticed him almost immediately,

"Teme, were you taking a break? Did you run out of juice or something?" Naruto teased, oblivious of the time Sasuke had spent in the mortal realm. Sasuke clucked his tongue,

"Dobe, do you see Zetsu anywhere?" Sasuke asked, looking around. Naruto shook his head,

"Hang on, I'll ask Hinata-chan!" Naruto offered. He glanced around the heavens and saw Hinata tending to other wounded gods and goddesses,

"Hinata-chan, can you help us find Zetsu?" Naruto hollered in her direction. Hinata blushed and nodded her head,

"H-Hai, Naruto-kun!" She replied as she activated her Byakugan. She concentrated, widening her field of sight,

"N-Naruto-kun, I found Zetsu, he's at the Eternal Mountain. Something's off though, I also saw Kaguya's chakra there, along with a mortal." She informed him. Naruto's eyes widened,

"Kaguya's chakra?! But we're fighting her right here!" He gaped disbelievingly at her, pointing towards Kaguya who was nursing a wound he had inflicted. Sasuke's eyes widened,

"Naruto, the Kaguya we're fighting here is just a distraction. The real one is at the Eternal Mountain! We need to get there now!" Sasuke instructed, charging off into the direction of the mountain. He was then blocked by Kaguya's 'clone', only for it to be shot to the side with a well-aimed attack from Uchiha Itachi, God of Fire. Itachi placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder,

"Go, Sasuke. Take Naruto with you and head towards the mountain. We'll handle the clone." Itachi gestured to the other gods that were all standing up,

"Only you and Naruto are able to stop her." Itachi smiled. Sasuke nodded,

"Thank you, Nii-san." With that, Sasuke and Naruto headed off.

* * *

They reached the Eternal Mountain, to see Sakura being held by Kaguya. Naruto gasped,

"Who is that mortal, teme?" He asked, pointing at Sakura.

"Kaguya's chosen vessel. With a vessel, Kaguya would be able to enter the human realm and cause chaos there." Sasuke explained, drawing his sword.

"Kaguya, stop what you are doing right now! Release Sakura immediately!" Sasuke ordered. Naruto opened his mouth,

"Save the questions for later, dobe. We need to focus on the fight right now." Sasuke stopped him. Kaguya smiled,

"You know this mortal, Sasuke? Is she precious to you? Don't worry; I'll make sure to properly absorb her delicious soul when I take over her body." Kaguya hugged Sakura tighter towards her. Kaguya and Sakura both started to glow as Kaguya started merging with Sakura.

Sasuke roared and charged towards Kaguya to attack her with a Susanoo. Kaguya chuckled and shot spikes from the palm of one of her hand as the other one held onto Sakura. Naruto appeared behind her and aimed his Rasengan, only to be blocked by Zetsu who hid in her sleeves,

"Now, now, you don't want to do anything drastic here. If you hurt mother or me, the mortal shall be hurt as well." Sasuke and Naruto both froze in mid-attack with that revelation, and Kaguya took the opportunity to fully merge with Sakura and Zetsu. She opened her eyes, and instead of the usual green, they were now pearl white. Kaguya laughed,

"You are both too late! With this vessel, I am now able to easily enter the mortal realm! Hahaha- What?!" She clutched at her head,

"How are you resisting me, mortal? You shouldn't be able to! Argh!" Kaguya/Sakura screamed.

"No, give me control of your body!" Kaguya screamed.

"Don't get your hopes up! As long as I am still around, you'll never have control of my body!" Sakura yelled back. Sakura's head lifted too look at Sasuke and Naruto, one of her eyes a brilliant green and the other pearl white; tears were leaking from the green one,

"Do it, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura pleaded,

"Do it while I can still hold her down!" Sakura yelled, blood dripping from her mouth. Sasuke and Naruto both rushed to Sakura/Kaguya, their dominant palms outstretched, and connected the sun and moon pattern with her back. Kaguya screamed as she was sealed away, blinding light coming from the body. When the light dimmed, Sakura was lying on the ground, her eyes dull and lifeless. Sasuke reached for her and cradled her,

"Sakura, wake up. Sakura, it's going to be alright. Kaguya is sealed away now." He hugged her close, pleading desperately for her to wake up. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up, to see the ruler of the heavenly realm, Tsunade behind him. Tsunade knelt in front of him and placed a glowing hand on Sakura's chest. She sighed,

"The damage to her body cause by Kaguya is too much for her to handle and her soul was almost ripped to shreds. I can't save her life anymore; her soul is most likely on its way to be judged and you'll never see her again." She delivered the devastating news to Sasuke. Sasuke gritted his teeth, and lowered his head into her chest, as he let out an anguished cry. Tsunade softened her eyes,

"There is something that I could do, however. I can give her another chance at life; she will be reincarnated. We wouldn't know when she will reappear within the realms and there is no certainty where she would end up; her soul has a chance to reborn in any of the realms, not just the mortal realms. She could end up as a demon in her next life; it would all depend on her karma and luck." Tsunade explained. She looked solemnly at the younger of the Uchiha siblings,

"Would you take that risk, Sasuke?" The blonde goddess asked him. Sasuke lifted his head, and with eyes filled with determination,

"Let me be selfish just this once, Tsunade-sama. I cannot stand to be without her. Even if she's born again as a demon, I'll love her all the same." He decided. He hugged her close,

"She will always be Sakura to me." He whispered, remembering her words to him. Tsunade nodded,

"So be it, Sasuke. I wish you both the luck too find each other again." With that, she raised her arms and Sakura's body started shining before, she disintegrated into cherry blossom petals and a shoot sprout in from the ground where she had laid. Sasuke stared at the shoot, tears streaking down his cheek,

"I will see you soon, Sakura."

* * *

 _ **~472 years later~**_

The shoot had grown into a strong Sakura tree and its petals were discovered to have healing properties that could cure almost any ailments. Under the shade of the tree sat the God of Lightning. He would visit the tree every day and spend his time sleeping under its shade during his free time. He had watched the tree grow over the years and had taken care of it, watering it every day. His eyes flutter open when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps; it had a chime to it. Focusing his eye sight, the first thing he noticed was a pair of bare feet, and pink hair so long that it trailed behind its owner. Slowly, his gaze travelled up the slender body, not daring to believe what he thought, until he reached her chin where plump pink lips smiled softly at him. Trailing further up, past her cute button nose, he stared straight into the greenest pair of eyes he's seen in a very long time. His mouth opened in shock, and she giggled, her voice music to his ears,

"Hello again, Sasuke-kun." She smiled at him. His body moved almost on instinct and he found himself enveloping her in a very tight hug, muttering her name over and over again, almost like a prayer. She smiled and returned the hug,

"I'm back, Sasuke-kun."

It was under the Sakura tree that two lovers were reunited.

 ** _~Owari~_**


End file.
